Training the will
In response to my post on blanket training babies, anonymous said:
not all children can be trained like animals...some children actually have a will of their own.
I agree with anonymous. Children do have wills of their own, and must not be trained like animals.
Be ye not like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you. Psalm 32:9
We each have a will of our own and must learn to bend it to God's will.
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would
like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate...For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. Romans 7:15-19
As parents, we help our children by teaching them early to have their wills bent to a visible authority. Then, as adults, they are better prepared to bend their wills to the source of all authority, God. The earlier we begin, the softer their young wills are and the more easily they are bent.
This is why it is so important to teach our children to obey! Not because it pleases us, not because it makes our days smoother and easier, not because obedient children are happier. These are benefits of obedience, yes, but none of these is the primary motivation.
We teach our children to obey us because in so doing they honor God now and learn to honor Him more as they grow. How will they obey an invisible God in the hard times of their lives if they can't obey us now when we tell them that 2 cookies are enough?
Related posts:
- From the mailbag: potty training
- Blanket training
- On the discipline of children
- Potty training wisdom
- Blanket training revisited
Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe so you'll never miss a new post!
Filed under: parenting
Beautifully said Kim, I couldn’t have said it more eloquently. I love the line, how will they obey an invisible God, if they can’t obey and understand the concept at a young age? Love it.
Kim,
You could not have said it much better. You would not have 8 beautiful children sitting on the couch for a picture if you waited till your youngest was three or four yrs old to do thepicture.
God placed the brain at the beginning not something that developed much later.
God Bless you and yours.
Joyce
God is so faithful to provide in His Word to provide “always ready” answers. Thank you for a great, Biblical reply to a typical man-centered snipe.
Bonnie in FL
The younger the better. I learned this the hard way. Even though this is how I was raised and I knew better, in my early years of parenting I let myself be influenced by the world’s thinking, and accommodated my children’s wills rather than shaping them. God is faithful and has made up for it in later years but I believe it is more of a struggle than it would have been if I had done it right from the beginning. Thanks for this post.
That is so well put that my heart leaped with joy to read it. You are full of wisdom and know God’s word well. Thank you for the encouragement!
Amen Kim! I never viewed training my children as training animals. Sometimes I think animals are smarter
lololol I LOVE the variety of personalities in each of my children.
Renee-www.homeschoolblogger.com/6littlelambs/
Beautifully put Kim!
You’re so right.
How late do you think you can blanket train a child? My youngest daughter is 7 1/2 months and since Bible study just started back at church and I need to keep her with me, this blanket idea has me very fired up!
And, in your experience and opinion, how long does it normally take if Mama is consistent? 
(Just asking so I don’t get frustrated when I feel like giving up before she would realistically have the hang of it yet…) Much thanks. 
Amen! Well said! I just read an excellent article on a similar subject and thought I’d pass on this quote:
“And here is a further thought. Charlotte (Mason) says, “We have not only to fulfill His counsels regarding children, but to represent His Person. We parents are as God to the little child; and yet a more constraining thought, God is to him what his parents are; he has not power to conceive a greater and lovelier personality than that of the royal heads of his home; he makes his first approach to the Infinite through them.”
My fellow homeschool mother, let us remember our position, fulfill our office with a kind of friendly dignity. It is an important and sometimes difficult position – “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” even if it is the natural crown of parenthood. But God will guide our steps if we keep our eyes on He who appointed us. And we will find joy within the authoritative yet loving relationship we were meant to establish with our children.”
The whole article is here : http://www.home-school.com/Articles/phs31-karenandreola.html
It is well worth the read!
Jen
My son was about 18 months when I needed to use this. Before that I really didn’t have to. He was not too old to learn this, it is the same concept I had to teach him when he was 15 months and climbed out of his crib.
I usually don’t teach them things like this just for the fun of it, but if I really need it.
A great website for child training is: http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com
Blanket training and training to be quiet from a young age is something I learned from there!
Stephanie,
You can start at any age. How long it takes depends much upon how well your child has learned to obey in other areas, but it’s never too late, and your daughter is still plenty young!
Every child is different, but I would expect a baby who has already learned “no” to have a pretty good idea of what you are requiring within the first session – you might work on it for 10 or 15 minutes. The next time you’ll need to refresh her memory, but she will pick it up much faster, and after 4 or 5 practice sessions you should be able to keep her on the blanket for 15-20 minutes so long as she can see you and knows you are paying attention.
Each baby is different, and attention spans are different. Your own attention span also plays a big part: ideally, you need to catch her before she leaves the blanket.
Again, each baby is different – you know your child, and you’ll know when she understands the idea.
theres a point in making a child obey and theres a point in letting the child be a child! there naturally curious…while i dont believe in letting them destroy peoples homes,i dont think they should be “trained” like dogs to “sit” and “stay”! its not right…try attachment parenting, its alot better and ur children will love u for it when there older. ta-ta!
and the blanket trainers win!! according to wikipedia:
There is a tradition in many newsgroups and other Internet discussion forums that once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically “lost” whatever debate was in progress. This principle is itself frequently referred to as Godwin’s Law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin’s_law