As parents we want our children to succeed. I have never heard a parent say that they wanted their children to become vagabonds or criminals. You know that you will not be 100% responsible for the success or the failure of your children but as parents you will have the greatest influence in their lives. This is what proverbs 22:6 refers to when it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Many parents want to do what is best for their children but are not always sure of the way to do this. In order to help parents in this matter, I want to share the 10 commandments of what NOT to do as parents taken from an article that appeared a few years ago in the St- Constant newspaper.

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF BAD PARENTING

1. From an early age, give your child everything he wants. He will grow up thinking that the world owes him everything.
2. If he is crude and impolite, laugh. He will think himself quite clever.
3. Don’t tell her something is wrong, this could produce a guilty conscience. Later on, when arrested for a crime, she’ll think society is persecuting her.
4. Pick up after your children. In this way, they’ll never take on any responsibility.
5. Let them read anything they want. Sterilize their dishes but let them feed their minds on trash.
6. Always argue in front of your children. When your marriage fails, they won’t be surprised.
7. Give your children money they haven’t earned. They’ll end up with the same money problems as you have.
8. Make sure all their desires are satisfied: food, drink, comfort, so that they’ll never experience denial or want.
9. Always defend them against neighbors, teachers, and police...
10. And when they grow up to be worthless, quickly admit that you could not have avoided it.