12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can AvoidShembull

We Prepare The Path

This final mistake is really a melting pot of the first 11 mistakes. Think about the first 11: we won’t let them fail, we project our lives on them, we prioritize their happiness, we’re inconsistent, we remove consequences, we lie about potential, we don’t let them struggle, we give them what they should earn, we praise the wrong things, we remove their pain, and we do it for them. Add these all together and you’ve got a parent who is trying to prepare the path for their child instead of preparing their child for the path.

Proverbs 22:6 NIV exhorts us, Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. What it doesn’t say is, “Get everything set up perfectly for your children to succeed, and when they’re old they’ll thank you for it.”

Psalm 23 is another well-known Scripture, but not typically for its parenting advice. Let’s look again to find some of the word pictures the psalmist created while writing about our heavenly parent. The Lord is shepherd, guide, leader, comforter, preparer, company in dark places, anointer, and one who loves for a lifetime. What if your child wrote a psalm about you? How would you want it to read?

Practice: Read Psalm 23 with your child. If possible, ask them to share how it makes them feel about God as a parent. Share about your effort to parent more like Him.

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