Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline [correction administered with godly wisdom and lovingkindness] will remove it far from him. Proverbs 22:15 AMP

One of my daughters woke up one morning and was very eager to share a dream she had the previous night , so on our way to school, we had a chat about the dream. “In my dream mummy,”  she said, “my friends and I were being  chased by a squirrel, and I had invisible powers, so I hid, and the squirrel couldn’t find me.”  That’s interesting,  I remarked. Would you like superpowers to be invisible then? I asked, and of course, her response was in the affirmative.  So I asked why she would like invisible powers and what she would do with it and  without hesitation,  she said she would like to listen to other people’s conversations to ensure they are not planning to hurt her friends. At that point, my other daughter added that she would like invisible powers as well,  so she could disappear when playing ” hide and seek” with her friends .

Children definitely have a heart different from adults as they see things simpler. No wonder Jesus said to be like little children in other to see the kingdom of God.
These simple minds also come with great risks of walking into danger  without the aid of  responsible adults. No child is born with the understanding of the ways of the world or with wisdom to navigate daily challenges.  These are learnt as they grow, and this growth process is so crucial to every child as what they are taught often builds them or damages them.  Proverbs 22:15 says that foolishness is bound ( or found ) in the heart of a child….
It is wrong for you to expect a child to know what to do if they haven’t been taught or shown. Children don’t know any better until shown, so when you continually allow a child to carry on in an act of foolishness because you want to avoid tantrum or want to be the nice one, you are not doing that child any favours as they look to you for training and guidance.


“My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honour around your neck. Proverbs 1: 8-9 NLT

In proverbs chapter one, it says to the child to listen to their father’s correction and their mother’s  instruction, which suggests that it is the place of the parents to give instructions and correction to the children. When you instruct your children right , they grow up to be gracious people who bring honour to you as a parent. Never be afraid to correct your child, but always let that correction come from a place of love and kindness. 
People have interpreted ‘the rod’ in Proverbs 22:15 to mean so many things, and I have witnessed people abuse children and justify it using this same verse. While this blog is not intended to point fingers or judge anyone, I would like to state that correcting someone, anyone is almost always never pleasant,  at least not to the person being corrected. The act of correcting( to the receiver ) could be as hurting as a rod and may not need any physical kind of rod. To my understanding of that verse of scripture,  the act of correcting is a rod in itself and this rod ( correcting ) should be done with as much love, kindness and grace as possible ( this may not always be practically easy or possible but should be the motivation and the goal).
I heard someone rightly say recently,  “Don’t bring children up in the atmosphere where they would need therapy from when they grow up.”

Much Blessings
Kingdom Durogene