Children may be trained for the service of sin or for the service of righteousness. Solomon says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6. This language is positive. The training that Solomon enjoins is to direct, educate, develop. But in order for parents to do this work, they must themselves understand the "way" the child should go. It is impossible for parents to give their children proper training unless they first give themselves to God, learning of the Great Teacher lessons of obedience to His will. {CT 108.1}
4. Voice Culture and Singing--"The very best school for voice culture is the home. Study in every way not to annoy, but to cultivate a soft voice, distinct and plain. Thus mothers may become teachers in the home. Mothers should themselves act like Christ, speaking tender, loving words in the home; then opposite their names in the book of heaven will be written, 'Ye are laborers together with God.' . . . Avoid everything that will be rasping to your children."--MS., Sept. 24, 1898
"Let there be singing in the home, of songs that are sweet and pure, and there will be fewer words of censure, and more of cheerfulness and hope and joy."--Ed., p. 168.
5. Reading--"Parents should endeavor to keep out of the home every influence that is not productive of good. . . . To those who feel free to read story magazines and novels I would say: You are sowing seed the harvest of which you will not care to garner. "The susceptible, expanding mind of the child longs for knowledge. Parents should keep themselves well informed, that they may give the minds of their children proper food."--Counsels, pp. 120, 121.
6. Use of Money and Systematic Giving --"Whether supplied by their parents or by their own earnings, let boys and girls learn to select and purchase their own clothing, their books, and other necessities; and by keeping an account of their expenses they will learn, as they could learn in no other way, the value and the use of money. "This training will help them to distinguish true economy from niggardliness on the one hand and prodigality on the other. Rightly directed, it will encourage habits of benevolence. It will aid the youth in learning to give, not from the mere impulse of the moment, as their feelings are stirred, but regularly and systematically."--Ed., p. 239
7. Home Duties--"The mother should be the teacher, and home the school where every child receives his first lessons; and these lessons should include habits of industry. . . . Let them also learn, even in their earliest years, to be useful. Train them to think that, as members of the household, they are to act an interested, helpful part in sharing the domestic burdens, and to seek healthful exercise in the performance of necessary home duties. "It is essential for parents to find useful employment for their children, which will involve the bearing of responsibilities as their age and strength will permit. The children should be given something to do that will not only keep them busy, but interest them. The active hands and brains must be employed from the earliest years. If parents neglect to turn their children's energies into useful channels, they do them great injury; for Satan is ready to find them something to do."--Sp. Test., pp. 37, 38
"When a little girl is nine or ten years old, she should be required to take her regular share in household duties, as she is able, and should be held responsible for the manner in which she does her work. That was a wise father, who, when asked what he intended to do with his daughters, replied, 'I intend to apprentice them to their excellent mother, that they may learn the art of improving time, and be fitted to become wives and mothers, heads of families, and useful members of society.'"--Signs of the Times, June 29, 1882.
"In the home school the children should be taught how to perform the practical duties of everyday life. While they are still young, the mother should give them some simple task to do each day. . . . Let her remember that the home is a school in which she is the head teacher. It is hers to teach her children how to perform the duties of the household quickly and skilfully. As early in life as possible they should be trained to share the burdens of the home. From childhood boys and girls should be taught to bear heavier and still heavier burdens, intelligently helping in the work of the family firm."--Counsels, p. 122.
Parents, let the instruction you give your children be simple, and be sure that it is clearly understood. The lessons that you learn from the word you are to present to their young minds so plainly that they cannot fail to understand. By simple lessons drawn from the word of God and their own experience, you may teach them how to conform their lives to the highest standard. Even in childhood and youth they may learn to live thoughtful, earnest lives that will yield a rich harvest of good. Be encouraged.
