Lo, Children are an heritage of the Lord Psalms 127:3
Train up a child in the way he should go. Proverbs 22:6

The day and the age we live in, raising children (and especially young people) has its high points as well as its low points. It can be a very trying time or a very happy and satisfying experience. Many parents have thrown up their hands and given up just when they needed to hold on for the final victory with their children.

The evils and pressures our young people face in the day we live in demand that every parent fall on their knees and cry out to God for wisdom on how to guide their young person through this time of their life.

Young people are at a special age between young children and adults. They not only have changes taking place as they mature, but also their minds are changing and maturing. We as parents, may find it to be a difficult time for us as well. This is not the same small child we used to hold in our arms.

Communication, which is a vital link between us and our children, must be continually kept open. No greater wedge can be driven by the devil than to have parents and young people that cannot talk rationally. As parents, we cannot allow ourselves to be wrapped up in our own lives to the point where our children are neglected of our time and energy. We owe our children children something and the thing we owe them cannot be bought with money. We owe them ourselves, we owe them our examples, we owe them friendship, and we owe them a listening ear.

This time of transition between childhood and adulthood is a very difficult time for them and we need to make it as easy as possible. We don't need to put more hassles in their lives on top of the pressures they are already going through. Our children today are facing a more wicked and vile world than we had to face just a few years ago. There is pressures upon them to conform to world and its ways. Since its a natural desire to be liked, the world will try to pressure our young people to gain acceptance and the worldly popularity.

As parents, we have a challenge on our hands that should call us to action. The job of raising teenagers is not getting any easier, but unless we do it and do it God's way, we'll be reaping sorrow for years to come.

Raising teenagers properly doesn't start when they turn 13. Before they even reach this age you find them changing in their attitudes and thinking. Raising teenagers must start when the child is born. It must start God's way and that is for the parents to be saved and sold out to God. For you to raise your teenager properly they must have a good foundation of training and discipline before they reach that age. They need security built into their lives by you, so when the teenage years come, they'll still look to you and your home as a place of refuge from the world.

We can only produce this place of refuge by keeping harmony in our homes and that will only come by allowing God to rule our homes entirely. If both parents are saved and sanctified that harmony will be there. With this and a good childhood foundation laid down, it will make your job raising your teenagers a much easier task. The best blessing we as parents can enjoy is a young person who is serving God with their whole heart. I'm not saying there won't be difficult times to go through, but when that young person's heart is right with God, they will still want to do God's will.

The attitude we manifest before them will have an influence on them, too. It is still true "whatsoever we sow, we shall reap". If we manifest things in our attitudes that are not Christ-like, it will have an effect on their attitudes and the way they conduct themselves.

It is the desire of every God fearing parent to say the same as John said, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth". It seems we have such a short time to raise our children and we need to redeem the time and make the best of every moment we have with them.