If you feel like you are just trying to do your best as a parent but often fail, you're not alone. If you feel unsure of what to do or say as a parent, you're not alone. If you mess up often and have to apologize to your kids, you're not alone. Parenting is hard and just when you have it figured out, your family or kids event a new phase of life and everything changes.

If there daily grind, it's good to think about our primary role as a parent. It's not to be their Uber driver, coach, or tutor. Some people say the goal is just to make sure their kids are happy. Some people want their kids to have it better than they had it. I think there's a bigger role with greater impact. 

Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

I have heard this called "parenting with the end in mind." I have heard some people describe it as preparing our kids to leave and succeed. The goal is to teach our kids to make wise choices to stay on the right path. The book of Proverbs talks all about wisdom and the benefits of making wise choices. There are many examples of staying on the straight path or in the way we should go. All of that comes back to the beginning of wisdom and looking to God to guide our lives. 

So how do I help my kids to make good decisions? How do I train them to be wise when they are older?  How I help them know God & His path? We see some more wisdom for parenting in the book of Proverbs:

1) Let's TELL THEM WHAT'S IMPORTANT. This is the main idea in Proverbs. Most of Proverbs is written by Solomon to pass down wisdom to his sons (Provers 4 is a great example).  

2) We can influence our kids by MODELING WHAT'S IMPORTANT (Proverbs 20:7). More things are caught than taught and our actions speak louder than words. 

3) We need to CORRECT OUR KIDS SO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S IMPORTANT. (Proverbs 19:18, 29:17). We can't just be their friends, we have to parent our kids. Proverbs talks about how if we don't discipline our kids, we're a willing participant in them destroying their lives. Discipline shouldn't be about the punishment. It should be about correcting behaviors and choices. I like what it says in Proverbs 13, "the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." Let's be careful not to just react as parents. but to correct in a way that changes their hearts and behavior.

These 3 things are probably not mind-blowing new information, but I think they are easily forgotten in the daily grind of parenting. So what would it look like for you to be more proactive in these areas? How can you be intentional about communication with your kids? How can you share your personal connection with God or your wise choices in a way that models it for your kids? I pray that you can influence your kids so they will make wise choices and be on the right path.

For more on this topic, check out the Weak or Wise series here.