The Need for Loving Discipline

11. Why does every child need discipline?

¹¹ Despite being taught by God “from [his] youth on,” David still pleaded, “The sins of my youth and my revolts O do not remember.” (Psalm 71:5, 17; 25:7) Yes, every child has ‘foolishness tied up with his heart.’ But “the rod of discipline is what will remove it far from him.” (Proverbs 22:15) This “rod” of parental authority often may be a word of correction or a firm restriction. So when the treacherous heart of your child craves to do something harmful, there is need for firmness to say no!​—Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 29:17, 19, 21.

12, 13. How can you make discipline effective?

¹² In disciplining, especially when punishing, follow the pattern of Jehovah who ‘corrects according to what is right.’ Isaiah 28:26-29 shows that he is like the farmer who uses discernment in determining which instrument to use for effective threshing of different kinds of grains and how long to thresh, not ‘incessantly treading it out.’ So ask yourself: Is the restriction reasonable in the light of my child’s age and progress toward maturity? Is the punishment in proportion to the seriousness of the wrong deed as well as consistent and not simply due to my mood? And does the child really know why he is being punished?​—Job 6:24.

¹³ Unreasonable restrictions or inconsistent discipline will irritate or exasperate the child.b (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21) Yet loving firmness will protect your child from circumstances that can destroy all the good teachings that you have stored in his heart. Especially is this important regarding his associations. (Proverbs 13:20; 28:7) But what if after all your effort your child gets into real trouble?