I’ve noticed a disturbing trend recently. If you look around you’ll see it too. Sad to say, its commonplace.

What am I talking about?

Families run by the children.

Why is it disturbing? It’s upside down. Children need parents who will lead them; not the other way around. Godly parents are responsible to teach and train their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Ephesians 6:4.

Parents who understand this aren’t afraid to make unpopular decisions. Right side up parenting is a style that listens to the ideas and opinions of all family members, weighs all the options and makes a decision that is in the best interest of the entire family.  Some decisions are not going to be warmly welcomed. In fact, there could be significant push back. However, in the end, parents must do the right thing.

Let’s take movies for example. Does your family have an established boundary or is it wide open? Can I tell you the truth? Many movies on the market today are not good enough for your family. Your children know this too. The best boundaries are the ones your children help create. Initiate a conversation about movies; get their input about what they think is beneficial for themselves and the rest of the family. Promise them you will carefully weigh their opinions and will make a decision soon.

When you announce the new movie guidelines assure them it applies to everyone.

Parents, we are not in a popularity contest. We must be willing to make the right decisions even if our children don’t agree. Children and teenagers alike need the guidance and leadership of right side up parents.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 17th, 2010 at 8:58 am and is filed under Parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.