The influence of parents on a child can be the most important influence given to a child in life. The reason it is the most important is because the parents should be spending the most time with the child. Parents are accountable to God for how they
influence their children. It helps children identify themselves through the parent’s role modeling. The parent’s positive influence provides a secure environment for proper development of children. The parent’s influence can help add to better society. Therefore I believe that the influence of parents on a child is very important.
The first reason parents influence is most important is the parents should be spending the most time with the child. They should be nurturing the child from infancy. Quality time is important but quantity is also important. Day by day, hour by hour contact with the parents helps provide a secure atmosphere for the child to grow. Too much running around and dropping kids off at day cares and baby sitters can be disruptive and unsettling to a child. Sometimes it can’t be helped depending on a family’s situation, especially if there is only one parent.
In this challenging situation a single parent needs a lot of support from extended family and friends. Much of the child’s basic personality is developed in the first seven years. Parents have great opportunity to use this time to instill proper values.
Secondly, I believe parents are accountable to God for how they influence the children He gives them. This is a good motivation for setting a good example for your children. They are constantly watching your behavior and responses in all of life’s situations. They soon find out that parents aren’t perfect but they should see a strong desire to do good in showing love and help to others, working hard and being responsible citizens. Also a parent sets the tone for a child’s belief towards God. It has been said that how a child views his earthly father can be correlated to how he believes in God.
If he has a loving, fair, just, and compassionate father who believes in God it will be easier for him to have faith in God. I’m sure a mother could have this same affect too. There are exceptions to this rule because God can take a child out of the most difficult situation and make a wonderful person out of him. This is the exception not the rule, the miracle, the hope God gives to each individual. So parents should want to aid in helping a child’s positive attitude towards God.
The third reason parents influence is important is it helps a child identify himself/herself through the parent’s role modeling. A little boy can see that he has certain things in common with his dad and a girl with her mom. They can see there is a purpose for why they were made different. They learn that there are two different sexes in life with differing strengths and abilities. Men typically are stronger, and more aggressive, while women can have a stronger inner strength, and be more sensitive and intuitive. There are also exceptions to these qualities but they seem to be the norm, or used to be the norm. Personalities differ which can have a bearing on an individuals strengths or abilities. But the role modeling of parents can give a child a basic understanding of his role in life.
Fourthly, the parent’s positive influence provides a secure environment for proper development of a child. When you consider the emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual side of a child you realize there is a lot to influence. Parents must display emotional stability. They will learn that people have good days and bad days, but they need to see parents being good problem solvers. Socially, they need to see how parents interact with others in working situations, hospitable situations, and charitable situations. I already commented on the spiritual aspect of the parent’s influence, however again I will say parents displaying a belief in a God who is in control of all things will give much confidence to the child. Intellectually, parents can influence the importance of a child using their minds to learn what they can. To show the child that learning can be fun and reaching their potential is a worth while goal.
Lastly, the importance of a parents influence on a child can be recognized by the impact it has on society. Much power is in the hands of the parents in helping the child become a responsible adult in society. So actually when parents have influence on a child they are also influencing society. This shows how great their responsibility is and important. Ultimately a child makes his/ her own decisions in life. A child may have the best parents and make many unwise decisions or the worst parents and make very wise decisions because of individual will. Still the best hope for a child’s outcome is to have good parents to contribute and better society.
In conclusion the influence of parents on a child is very important. When one considers the amount of time they can have with their child and the influence they can have on the child who becomes part of society one can see the awesome responsibility given. The quality and quantity of time, our responsibility toward God, setting proper role models, providing security, and showing responsibility all should be great motivators in helping us see how parents have the most important influence on a child.