Top 5 Reasons Why Your Children Won't Listen To Your Voice

As parents, we would truly be delighted if our children are really obedient to us.  And many times, the opposite is what happening inside every home, even a Christian family home.  This is one area of being parents where we also struggle the most,  how to train your children in the way of the Lord is the challenge here.

Most of the time I share the verse from Ephesians 6:1 "Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." to remind them that it is their duty as children to be obedient with their parents at all times except that if it is against moral and against the will of God.

Based on my experience, I would love to share with you the top 5 reasons why our children are somewhat "disobedient" to us and would not listen to our voice.

1. Household Rules are not properly defined or installed and therefore not properly understood.

Just like in every game we play, house rules should be properly defined, communicated and understood by every member of the family.  If needed, rewards and penalty should be communicated as well and also must be imposed.

2. Children were not trained well especially during their early years.

"Train up a child in the way he should go so that when he is old he will not depart from it" as the Proverbs says.  It is important to input go values, obedience for one, to a child's mind especially during his early childhood, as early as 3 or 4 year old, I believe.  For this will become the foundation of good moral values and right conduct as he or she is growing from childhood to teenage years to adolescent and to adulthood.

3. Kids were not motivated to being obedient.

What is there to being obedient?  There should be a proper motivation for children to become obedient.  I don't believe that corporal punishment or spanking is the answer as it is the opposite of motivation, if you know what I mean.  In fact, my middle child, a daughter, will endure the spanking, she would not even cry a tear even if she was spanked or punished for disobedience, as long as she can.  She is a Strong-Willed Child (SWC), I know, for I was one, too, when I was a child. :)   Shouting or yelling won't do either, believe me, I've been there.

This is the part where you should do the hard work as a parent.  Take time to study the attitudes and habits of your kids.  And I mean, spend more time to be with your children so that you will know them better.  And this should start as early as possible.  Cultivate good relationship, and correct your children's bad behavior as young as they are.  I believe that in doing this, you will have a proper "grasp" on how to really motivate your children towards obedience, not only to you as their parents, but to other people as well, especially those of authorities.

4. You are not showing a good example.

"Walk your talk" is the key here.  For our kids to become obedient, we need to be obedient first.  We need to obey the rules we ourselves set in our homes.  We are not excuse from not being obedient.  In so doing, it will not be difficult for us to rear our children towards being obedient.

5. We are being inconsistent.

We should be consistent especially with our words and the house rules that we set.  If we say "yes" we should mean "yes" and "no" should really be "no".  There should be no room for inconsistencies.  Remember, our children are watching and observing our actions and also the way we treat them if they are being obedient or not.

"Wew!", I heard you say.  I know that it is really tough being a parent, but I also believe that if you avoid these things, we will surely reap a good harvest and if you have trained your kids in the way of the Lord, I bet you'll be glad you did. :)