CAROLYN L GASEFETE

CHILD GUIDANCE

HOPE FOUNTAIN MASTER GUIDE CLUB

As parents we have the obligation of giving physical, mental and spiritual instruction. These 3 elements of a balanced character have been looked more in depth through the book Child Guidance, but this paper is just a sneak peak of what it entails.

Physical - Health - What are we feeding our children? Is it food that will give them strength and a clear mind to fight their battles each day. "Our bodies are constructed from what we eat; and in order to make tissues of good quality, we must have the right kind of food, and it must be prepared with such skill as will best adapt it to the wants of the system. It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in a variety of ways, so that it may be both palatable and healthful." {CG 373.2}

Exercise - "In the children and youth an ambition should be awakened to take their exercise in doing something that will be beneficial to themselves and helpful to others. The exercise that develops mind and character, that teaches the hands to be useful and trains the young to bear their share of life's burdens, is that which gives physical strength and quickens every faculty. And there is a reward in virtuous industry, in the cultivation of the habit of living to do good." {AH 506.2}

Learning a trade - "Schools should be established that, in addition to the highest mental and moral culture, shall provide the best possible facilities for physical development and industrial training. Instruction should be given in agriculture, manufactures--covering as many as possible of the most useful trades--also in household economy, healthful cookery, sewing, hygienic dressmaking, the treatment of the sick, and kindred lines. Gardens, workshops, and treatment rooms should be provided, and the work in every line should be under the direction of skilled instructors. The work should have a definite aim and should be thorough. While every person needs some knowledge of different handicrafts, it is indispensable that he become proficient in at least one. Every youth, on leaving school, should have acquired a knowledge of some trade or occupation by which, if need be, he may earn a livelihood." {CG 357.3}

Mental - We need to expect our children to be thorough in their school work and to be able to read, spell, write clearly and do their maths to the best of their ability before they are to take the next step into other subjects.

Spiritual - "Our heavenly Father, in giving His Word, did not overlook the children. In all that men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of the little ones, as the stories of the Bible? In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child's comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfil the Lord's injunction concerning His precepts: 'Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up'." {PH124 3.1}

God is so good! In talking to the Hebrew people, he told them how to teach their children so that they may stay in close relation to Himself: To teach the children Gods requirements - God has made our children’s brains like sponges, they soak up information especially through repitition. To acquaint children with all His dealing with His people - Read the bible. Start when they are young and they will have a desire for the stories of the Bible

Thoughts of God were associated with all the events of daily life - You know the verse "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deut 6:7

Deliverence of His people recounted with eloquence and reverential awe - Again the stories from the Bible. Providence and future life to be impressed on young minds - Children love to hear about heaven and to imagine of how it is going to be. Don't stop telling them about how good Heaven will be and what they would like to see and do there. Get them excited!

And how did the Hebrew people teach these lessons and firmly fix them into memory of the children? By the use of figures and symbols the lessons given were illustrated, and thus more firmly fixed in the memory. Through this animated imagery the child was, almost from infancy, initiated into the mysteries, the wisdom, and the hopes of his fathers, and guided in a way of thinking and feeling and anticipating, that reached beyond things seen and transitory, to the unseen and eternal. {CG 19.1} Teach with - pictures, felts, drawings...

Jesus secured His education in His home and He is our child’s perfect pattern. He was faithful and cheerful in bearing household burdens. This qoute is a good reminder: "Each child in the family should have a part of the home burden to bear and should be taught to perform his task faithfully and cheerfully. If the work is portioned out in this way, and the children grow up accustomed to bearing suitable responsibilities, no member of the household will be overburdened, and everything will move off pleasantly and smoothly in the home" CG 350.
It is amazing how a child is born with a desire to help. Do not stop them even though it may seem much quicker to do it yourself and less of a hassle

Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.