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Posted by Vincent Cheung on July 24, 2005
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Be consistent in your administration of discipline. Never, never, never issue a warning or a command without following it through.
We should expect instant obedience on the part of our children, and we should reinforce that expectation with the rod each and every time that they fail to obey. Don’t fall into the trap of constructing some kind of early warning system. There are some parents who have to tell their children to do something two or three times before they will do it. Other parents have to raise their voices beyond the normal range before their children will listen. And still others have to count to three before their children will obey. "If you don’t do this by the time I count to three, you’re really going to get it." They count, "1–2–the child doesn’t move–2 & 1/2"; and so it goes. The child has won. Expect instant obedience and do not implement any kind of early warning system.
There are times when the very lives of our children may depend upon their obeying us immediately. I read of one such instance that occurred in Southern California when a family was camping on their vacation. They were staying in a campsite and the children were out playing on some rocks nearby. As the father scanned the area to see where his two boys were, his eyes fastened upon five-year-old Michael, who had unknowingly cornered a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake was coiled and ready to strike. The father said firmly, "Mike, stand still." The boy froze in his tracks when he heard the command of his father. He obeyed instantly. His father then got a rifle and shot the snake. What do you suppose might have happened if it had been necessary for the father to say, "Mike, if you don’t stand still by the time I count to three, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble." His son’s life would have been in danger. There are times when our children’s very lives will be in danger unless they learn to obey instantly.
Our children will not respond to our voice the first time in a crisis unless they are accustomed to responding to it the first time under normal circumstances. Our children ought to know that we mean it the very first time that we say it, or they will never believe it until we count to three, say it twice, or raise our voice. Train your children to expect to obey the first time you say something and when you say it in a normal tone of voice. When they do not obey, correct them.
Bruce Ray, Withhold Not Correction (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company), p. 103–104.
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Recommended for Further Study:
Vincent Cheung, Spank a Child, Save a Life
Vincent Cheung, Preach the Word
Bruce Ray, Withhold Not Correction
Louis Paul Priolo, Teach Them Diligently
Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child’s Heart
John MacArthur, What The Bible Says About Parenting
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