You Cannot Force “Love” Down Your Child’s Throat, Demonstrate It

If you want to teach your kid the best values in life, you should teach about love. Not romantic love of course but love for God, others and self. Love should be at the center of his or her being. This may sound easy but it is usually not. Love should start at home. Kids should not confuse love against other things like fear, needs, service, or even religious acts.

Fear

Your kid should not mistakenly understand that the fear of you is a sign that he or she loves you or God.

Needs

Your kid should not be given ALL things so he or she confuses it as your sign of love for him or her. The danger for abuse of grace and blessings will be there.

Service

Your kid should not think that serving you by doing household chores is equated with love. Slavery is not always a great picture of love.

Religious Acts

Your kid should not misunderstand that Praying , reading the Bible, and speaking memory verses are all signs of love for God. They should understand the connection between the words spoken and what's inside the heart is what matters most

I am not saying that all four things above should not be done. Those attributes are great but all need a semblance of  balance. Fear is good as long as the root of such fear is love. Providing the need is great and as long as the kid understands that he or she is not the center of the world. Service is a great teacher for humility but kids also need to be taught the balance of becoming a servant-leader. Religious acts are good but the truth of God's word must be absorbed deep down in the heart and not merely on the surface level with acts that are done and aimed to impress people only.

It is always ideal to teach kids to love God first and then next to that is to love others as themselves. But of course, you cannot force them the idea of love down to their throat. The general learning style of kids is imitating things. The best thing to do is teach them by example. As parents, you need to demonstrate love.