I had the joy of keeping my one year old grandson Liam this week while his parents were on a cruise, which is not the place for a toddler who is beginning to walk, as he falls down enough on solid ground.

The name Liam means “strong willed warrior and protector” according to babycenter.com and he is definitely living up to his name! I thought my boys were strong-willed but this little fella is definitely giving them a run for the title, that is for sure! I think it is very important to consider the meaning of a name before naming children for this very reason.

It is important to make them obedient without breaking their will. Now I know this sounds contrary but it really isn’t. It is about letting them grow up to be the person God intends for them to be but it is also necessary that they learn to submit their will to the authorities in their lives. Sadly, this takes a lot of discipline and consistency on the parents’ part. As I’ve written before, I think it is part of the reason God made us to desire children when we are younger, so that we learn discipline as we train our children.

We don’t want children to be weak and go along with everything anyone tells them but we do want them to obey God and the people in authority in their lives. It is in their best interest to correct them and follow through with what you say. If you tell a child not to touch something and they do, you need to smack his/her hand. It need not be a hard smack but say no and tap their hand or leg. And every time they do it, smack him/her again.

I have a humidity gauge that sits on the coffee table. When Liam first started pulling up at it, I told him ‘no’ when he touched it and removed his hand from it. Every time he went to touch it, I forcefully said ‘no’ again. If he continued on and actually touched it, once again smacked his hand and removed it from it. Now every time he comes over, he mostly leaves it alone. But as I mentioned, he will try and get away with it occasionally. The other day, he picked it up and tried to walk off with it. I had to reinforce that he is not to touch it. I said, “Llliiiaaammm, no no.” He immediately dropped it, otherwise, I would have smacked him again.

Since then, he’s left it alone, except yesterday when I walked out of the room. Michael said he attempted to touch it but he reaffirmed that he’s not supposed to touch it and he’s left it alone since.

It takes a lot disciple to train children. Let us not forget that we should pray for them as well. Pray that they will learn to be obedient and submissive to God and the authorities in their lives.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº