Building A Christian Home In The 21st Century

The first association any child ever finds is his/her family. 

This child grows up learning the culture and morals passed down by parents.

One of the key responsibilities of parenting in addition to financial and emotional support is spiritual upbringing.

Many parents do well raising their children in the fear of the Lord and the children grow up walking in this path. But sometimes, these children even with a good spiritual background still find a way to be led astray.

In recent years, it has been worse with teenagers indulging in all forms of social vices. Today, it is not unusual to see a teenager indulging in drug abuse, prostitution or cybercrime. This negative attitude in teenagers can be attributed to the access of information that these children consume. We exist in the digital era where these teenagers can access any and every information by just having internet connection. So, does that mean we should restrict them from having phones or other digital devices? Of course not! What we need is for parenting styles to improve to cope in this digital era.

There are several ways parents can help build a healthy home that supports the spiritual growth of a child notwithstanding the external factors that might pose as a threat.

i. Avoid using fear as a means of education: Some parents think if they say scary things about certain things, it will stop the children from trying it. At some time in the lives of teenagers, they get influenced by peers or what they see on social media to try drugs or alcohol. What will stop them from doing this is not your fear-based teaching but the level you were able to educate them on the particular social vice.

ii. Creating healthy environment for effective communication: Avoid deciding everything for your child. Yes, you care and want the best for them but always think about what they want for themselves. There should always be a balance between “control” and “support”. When you coerce every decision they make in their lives at home, they feel helpless and vulnerable to likely temptations outside.

iii. Get involved in their lives: Having a job or business with tight deadlines should never be an excuse for not being able to spend time with them. If you are never emotional available to provide them with the answers they need, they will eventually have to go outside to find that answer; sometimes getting the wrong answer from unlikely source.

By: Oghenekefe Ettoh

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