My son (3) came to me this morning and held out his hand with a few candies in it and a smile on his face from ear to ear. He exclaimed “Daddy, I got candy cause I was good.” Before I gave much thought to it, I immediately returned “You got candy because mom is good, not you.” Is rewarding for good behaviour a bad thing? We have all done it, myself included. But I believe there’s a better way. A reward is given when proper action is taken, but not necessarily expected. More importantly, a reward is dependant on the giver, not the receiver. If you receive a benefit for something good you have done, it is dependent on your efforts and...

If we can teach our children to listen to the Holy Spirit, we won’t need a bunch of rules. Do we have boundaries? YES, but with plenty of room for error. It takes faith and cannot be done if we as parents aren’t led by the Holy Spirit. Lead by example. I know I will get some know-it-all that will now post “So I am just supposed to let my kids run and play in the street hoping they hear from the Holy Spirit.” LOL Not quite what I am talking about. Rules like that keep your child safe. I am more talking about forcing your child to do spiritual things rather than showing them by leading them. Many think that telling and...