Child discipline during Bible studies...

Just a thought... Along with much continued prayer, instead of threatening the loss of his favorite thing, do it. Tell him that the consequences of his behavior means the loss of the tv or pc or whatever for a week.

 

Try something like Keys for Kids.

Back to using it now that grandkids are around with their mom being in hospital. We used it when our kids were young.

It combines Bible reading with a child friendly story and a key for the day, along with a memory verse.

We raised 6 and now have 4 grandkids. Twenty minutes of Bible reading seems a bit long to me. Maybe try something geared toward them and then apply the discipline suggestions.

I am a big supporter of Keys for Kids. When we do them now the grandkid's dad remembers the stories.

 

Just a thought, if your kid's mouth is running, give him more passages to read during your group reading. That will give his mouth something to do.

 

Twenty minutes is a long time for devotions at those ages. Here's what we do with our kids that works well. As my husband reads, we let the kids act out what he's reading. That way they get to participate instead of just sit and listen.

Also, long passages aren't necessary at their age. Sometimes we read a verse over and over so we all memorize it, and we make it fun. I would much rather my kids learn a verse that will stick with them through life than sit still while we read an entire chapter. If your son is a talker, this might be the best route to go with him. Let him read, too!

Try to make it fun. I would caution you against spanking your son during or after devotions, because he will associate the two and learn to hate the reading of God's word. I say this from experience. I have memories from childhood, having to sit and listen to my father read boring passages of scripture and try to "explain" it to us. It was a chore, not fun, and we had to comply or else! Please don't do this with your children. As suggested before, use Keys for Kids or another age appropriate devotional guide.

 

Why did I not mention that? That's what I used to do when I was teaching Sunday School. Excellent idea, abc!!!

 

Thanks. Our kids really loved it when daddy was Goliath and "fell down" after they pretended to be David slinging a stone at him. Another night we put a blanket on the floor and they acted out being the disciples at sea when the storm came. The blanket was the "boat" and the rest of the floor was the "water." It's amazing how much they enjoy simple role playing.

 

Annsni sez:

I'll add a double sized AMEN to this!!!

One of my grans knows that his momma threatens & threatens & threatens ---, but rarely follows through, but when we keep them I tell them at the outset that I am going to "say whatever" only once and then something else will follow. Their daddy (our son) is better, but he tends to give a lot of leeway before clamping down - more than I believe is healthy.

Never takes over once to nip this bad behavior in the bud, cause he knows these are not idle threats.

Yep, kids learn fast; obviously a lot faster than the adults in general do!

 

I know most of you are much more experienced than I at parenting, but growing up I got whipped. When it came time for disciplining my daughter, there was no question about what works. It worked for my parents. It works for me. The key I've found (nothing new) is consistency, and that is with any discipline. She can't get in trouble for something that maybe next time she won't. If the belt don't work get a limb.

 

I am a supporter of proper corporal punishment. It is biblical if used for the right offence and in a proper manner.

I would not suggest spanking a 7 year old for acting like a 7 year old, especially if our devotional time did not take his age into account.

It is too easy to drive kids away from God's word at that age. Make family Bible time fun, applicable, instructional, and reasonably timed.

Yes, you need to demand proper behaviour, but there are things that can be done to help make it work.

 

Depends on what you want from your child, a change of behavior or a change of heart which will lead to a change of behavior. Using corporal punishment to make a kid be quiet during devotions is defeating the whole purpose of family devotions in the first place.

Your comment "if the belt don't work get a limb" is completely uncalled for and has no business in this thread. I find it extremely offensive.

 

I'm sorry if it offended you, and I didn't mean to imply that restlessness at the table is cause to whip a kid. I was talking about discipline in general. You would certainly start with something milder in that case. On the other hand, if it doesn't work..... The OP referred to the child in question as a "hellion". The bible says to discipline your kids, and I don't think it meant a gentle pat on the rear and a stern word. Kids that qualify as hellions need stern discipline. I needed it, and like I said it worked. And it works for me. You've got to do something to get their attention. The belt seemed to lose its effect with mine, so I got a limb. I wasn't saying that to be funny. It works it works it works. I can't say it enough. That paired with an explanation of WHY discipline is necessary and stating to them that you do it because you LOVE them. My kid knows I don't want to whip her, but I certainly will when necessary. Problem is a lot of people don't think it's necessary even when it is. Again, sorry if I offended you.

 

Talk about jumping to conclusions. :tonofbricks: It's smaller than my pinky and nowhere close to abuse. BTW you don't know me so why would you accuse me of abusing my daughter, when all I said is I discipline her effectively. And biblically too.

Edit: I thought I might add too that my sister and I were homeschooled for 4 years, and I have the utmost respect for my parents in how they raised me.

 

Thank you for clarifying that. This thread is not about discipline in general, or about spanking, though. It's about a dad wanting to get his kids interested in Bible reading/devotional time, and I think we need to be very careful about mixing God's word with punishment, especially with young children.

Better to treat family devotions as a fun, exciting time to learn rather than a time to show who's boss. If a child is a "hellion" there will be plenty of other times during the day for parents to teach consistent discipline.

 

Great ideas there. Make it fun. Make it enjoyable. Engage them in the discussions. Twenty minutes is long for some sermons I've heard, so it's got to be long for a 5 year old. At the end of the day, you want your children to be studying the Scriptures on their own and using the Scriptures for guidance in their own lives. This will be hard to do if they are not engaged in the process early on and they think the Bible is boring. Even worse if they associate this with spankings.