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"How To Raise A Child In A Christian Home: 10 Important Tips" |
What Christians Want to Know | Daryl Evans
It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to raise children. This is true of both believers in Christ and people that do not have a relationship with God. But if you are a person of faith, it is so important to pass on a spiritual heritage that your kids can pass on to their kids. The 10 tips that I picked for this article are certainly not a complete list but were things that I believe are essential to raising your kids in a Christian way. They are not necessarily in order of importance but consider the following.
1. Put Christ first in your life
This is, of course, easier said than done. However, we always have to be aware that we are teaching kids all of the time. What I mean is that even when we are sitting in front of the TV, we are teaching them something (Such as what we consider funny or appropriate or interesting). When we raise our children, they must see us consistently putting Christ first in everything we do including our time (put Christ first on Sunday's…not sports or travel plans) and our money (teach and show your kids that you give to the local ministry of the church).
2. Model what a Christian should look like The Bible speaks about how God is Holy and encourages us to be Holy too. We will never be perfect as Christ was but being holy doesn't mean perfection (like Jesus is) but more of a "set apart" meaning. We are to be different than the outside world. People should be able to notice that we believe in Jesus Christ. Not because we are proud and pious like the Pharisees standing on the street corners to pray but our friends and neighbors should be able to tell we are different by how we act and interact with each other and with the world. Our marriages should be different (sadly the divorce rate is not always much different in the church as outside the church) as we follow the example of Christ. He loved His bride (the church) and laid down His life for it. Our children will certainly know that we are not perfect but they should know that we are authentic (real both in our daily lives and the same on Sunday morning).
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"Twelve Christian Principles of Childrearing" |
Sound child-rearing principles are readily backed up by the Bible. Following are 12 instructions to help parents successfully guide their children through the developmental years.
1. BEGIN EARLY "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). The Hebrew means from infancy to adolescence, while training carries the connotation of narrowing or hedging in. Training a child means appropriate instruction according to the age of the child, and it begins in infancy.
2. PRESENT A UNITED FRONT "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33). Parents should agree on the methods and practices they will use in raising their children.
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"Cost of Child Care for Single Mothers" |
More than 11 million children younger than age five are in some form of child care in the United States and parents pay a significant portion of their income for child care.
Child care is the biggest expense for many parents with young children, ahead of housing and food.
Although the federal government provides some child care subsidies for low-income parents, the reality is that parents still pay a significant portion of their income for child care.
And the growing costs have put a tremendous strain on their budgets, especially for those with two or more children.
In most states, the average cost of center-based infant care exceeds 30% of median income for single mothers.
Massachusetts is the most unaffordable state for single mother families,1 with full-time center-based infant care costing nearly 70% of their income.