Children Crave Discipline

I have a confession to make. I have been watching MTV. I know what you are thinking, “What, you?” It’s not what you think though. I heard about this show they were airing on the Hoover High School football team called “Two-A-Days.” As I was channel surfing the other night (one of my favorite hobbies) I ran across it and started watching.

The coach, Rush Propst, is strict on his players. He expects nothing less than perfection from them. When they don’t give 110% he can really go off on them! But, he puts together winning teams and has had over 40 players sign college scholarships. He is a man who gets the job done!

The episode I saw showed them losing to Tuscaloosa, and the coach really gave it to them after the game and then left them with, “I’ll see you Sunday!” I can imagine the dread those boys felt throughout the weekend anticipating the tough workout they were fixing to endure.

On one of the closing clips they showed Coach Propst talking to the camera. I don’t know what they had asked him, but his response was, “Kids crave discipline, they crave it!”

He is absolutely right!

I would be willing to bet money that Coach Propst is in their mind on and off the field. Knowing what he expects, and knowing that he will follow through with every threat he utters makes them think. When tempted to do something they shouldn’t do the thought, “What is coach going to do if he finds out” probably crosses their minds.

They may not like their coach all the time, they may even talk about him in negative ways off the field, but the discipline that he dishes out causes them to walk a straighter line than they would if the didn’t follow through with his threats. He has earned their respect.

There is something about discipline, knowing what will happen every time they cross a boundary that makes a child feel safe.

A child who knows that he will catch more grief when he gets home for doing something wrong than he will from his friends for refusing to do it, gives that child a sense of security. It takes the pressure of making difficult decisions off of him.

In Psalm 111:10 the Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The word fear in Hebrew means “moral reverence, dread, or exceedingly fearful.” Its knowing what God can do that can keep us following his path. God loves us enough to discipline us when we disobey.

Our children need discipline; they need to have a fear of what will happen to them if they cross a boundary that we set. Not a fear of abuse, but that we will follow through with what we say, every time! By instilling discipline in our children we not only reduce the stress of making difficult decisions, we increase the odds of them having a successful life.

Johnny Walker is a Christian Counselor and the founder of Family Works Counseling. You can reach him at 770-456-5547