Don't Make Me Count to Three

"Do you find yourself threatening, repeating your instructions, or raising your voice in an attempt to get your children to obey? Are you discouraged because it seems you just can't reach the heart of your child? Through personal experience and the practical application of Scripture, Ginger Plowman encourages and equips moms to reach past the outward behavior of their children and dive deeply into the issues of the heart. Ginger's candid approach will help moms move beyond the frustrations of not knowing how to handle issues of disobedience and into a confident and well-balanced approach to raising their children."

Here is one of my favorite resources on biblical parenting. The next few posts are going to be from this book. The Bible has answers for every circumstance in life and it is filled with wisdom on parenting. After looking at the latest issue of Parents today, I was reminded of the emptiness of man's wisdom apart from Scripture.

Let's look at some of the world's methods used in an attempt to obtain obedience over the next few days. I would love to hear some feedback!

(taken from Chapter 9 of Don't Make Me Count to Three)

Worldly Method #1: Bribing

I once observed a mom in Wal-Mart telling her two-year-old to come to her. The child ignored her mom and took off running the other way. In desperation Mom called out, "Come to Mommy and I'll give you a sucker." Immediately the child went from hearing impaired to exceptional hearing and came quickly to Mom's side. This is not training for obedience; it's rewarding the child for stubbornness. Children should be taught to obey because it is right and because it pleases God, not to get a reward. Giving them a reward in order to get them to obey encourages them in selfishness. Their motive for obeying is, "I'll obey for what I can get out of it."

Tonya