Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

 Over the past year my wife and I have been fortunate to help one of our kids by watching our granddaughter while both parents’ work. While here, we have a children’s television program on, which she loves and has learned so much in just one year. One of the most precious parts of this program is the love they express in each episode. We’ve noticed that our granddaughter has grown to embrace us with a hug, pat on the shoulder, confirming her love for us. What a beautiful trait for a child, to express love to others.

 Today’s proverb gives great advice to make time to train your child into a better person, and from that early learning they will carry it with them into adulthood. Studies of childhood development reveal that from birth to age 5, 85% of that child’s brain has developed and has shaped them for their future actions, feelings, how they feel about themselves, and the way they look at the world around them. Basically, they are like a dry sponge and the environment in which they live is like water, as they soak it up, it develops their brain network for life. Is your environment pure, or toxic?

 While we are on the subject of childhood brain development, lets talk about kids in their adolescent years. An alarming statistic for Gen Z age group (kids born between 1997 – 2012) states 74% of boys and 64% of girls say pornography is a problem for them. Somewhere along the way, either through seeing porn online, in the home, or at school, this dirty seed has been implanted in their mind and it will affect their view of the opposite sex, how they view relationships and even make them question their own sexuality. We are seeing today so many accounts of teachers having sexual relationships with their students. I believe pornography is one of the biggest problems for adults who were exposed to it in their younger years.

 Parents. We must do our part to protect our children from the toxic things of the world. It all starts in the home. It all starts with you. You can never shelter your child enough, you can never be too investigative in your child’s business, and never feel bad for being called “old fashioned”. We must do our part to bring our children up in a safe environment, otherwise the demoralization of society will destroy our children, along with their future families and the next generation. God help us! Let Proverbs 22:6 be the focal point of everything you do while raising your children. God bless!