"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
A popular statement I often hear about child training is that 'Children have a short attention span.' Have you ever heard those words?
As I start this piece, I wonder if that statement is really completely true.
The reason I am left wondering this is that as I consider the word of God especially the verse above,it seems to suggest that we use every opportunity to teach. The verse above seems very intense when it comes to training and teaching our children. Now, please note that I am not against having fun with our children and neither is the verse above against that, but it seems to me that when we are engaged in those relaxing exercises with our children(notice that the bible talks about when we lie down, now what could be more relaxing than lying down, we should still teach), we should be able to use those fun activities we do together to train them in the way of the Lord.
Also I have also watched my son to determine how long his attention span is, and I find to my amazement that he can pay attention to anything as long as he is Enjoying it!
He can spend hours on-end watching cartoons but when I call him away from it to eat, pray or study his bible, he comes away from "Tom and Jerry" with a great sense of reluctance. Its almost as if I was punishing him! This observation of mine is the reason for my questioning this popular saying about kids attention span.
Please note that I am not a child psychologist or expert in child training and I would like to admit that a lot of what I am writing I am a Dad-in-training and I am learning on the job, But I think that statement is not correct or rather is incomplete.
So I turned to the word of God again, knowing that my experience is not enough to make me an authority on this topic(and to be honest in any subject at all) but I think you would agree with me that if the bible says its true then we can trust the word of God to be true and accurate.
I find quickened in my heart this verse that helped give my insight on this issue.
2 Tim 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
1Sam. 2:18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
Timothy and Samuel seem to have paid attention as kids!
As I consider the scriptures above I would have loved to interview Timothy's parents to know how they did it. I find that the scripture is almost silent about this except to mention the fact that Timothy's faith seems to have come from his grandma and his mum. But in the case of Samuel, he was involved in ministering to the Lord. God got a hold of him because of a mothers prayer and kept him in the midst of Eli's children who were not living right. (Now hold onto these insights we will come back to it at the end of this write-up.)
Having considered the above I would like to say then that, I think Children have a short attention span when something does not interest them, but if they get interested in a thing you can have their full and undivided attention!(come to think about it, the same statement holds true for adults. Check out men when they watch football and you would understand.)
The problem then becomes, how do I get my children interested in the word of God? How do I make my children enjoy hearing the word of God and praying?(Won't our Sunday schools be a better place if most parents take time to get their children use to hearing the word of God? I am sure a lot of Sunday school teachers would be relieved if this were the case).
The answer to these questions may lie in the questions below:
What holds your attention? What are you passionate about? What do you love doing? Do you love God so much that it finds expression in your daily life? How is your devotion to God? Does God have your full and undivided attention?
One reason a lot of parents cant teach, is because the bible isn't a part of their daily life or rather don't apply it in their every day living instead its a "Sunday Sunday" thing. They don't find expressions of God's word in their day to day life.
If you do, it would be easier to teach your children because things would happen and you would tell them what the word of God says about that thing. It doesn't have to be a solemn affair before you teach.
So the sickness of the fathers and mothers is what is bothering the child! A man came to Jesus and said to him heal my son but Jesus addresses the faith or lack of it in the man. Mark 9:17-25
The source or cure to all our problems do not necessarily lie on the other person but sometimes it lies with a change occurring in us. For our children to start paying attention we must start paying attention and praying that the love of God would be created in the hearts of our children as well.
I would like to end with this illustration, My son supports the same football club I do and I never sat him down to tell him to support my team. He knows the names of the players, and feels bad when they lose. This told me that my passions where becoming his passions.(I have started trying to develop a new and godly passion with him now)
Why did this happen you may ask? The only answer I can give is that my passions rubbed off on him.
Are your passions reflecting on your children?
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