Gentleness [One Minute Feature]

How can speaking with a gentle voice help a child when he has done wrong? How does harsh words provoke anger in a child?

Raising Our Children with A Gentle Voice

Growing up in a dysfunctional and abusive home as a kid, I learned how to use words that could cut a person to the quick. But that was not an asset when I started having kids of my own. It took me a long time to learn the wisdom of Proverbs 15:1, “ a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” In fact, I am still learning it.

I am not saying there is never time to use forceful words with our kids. The problem is when it becomes a pattern. We can keep from provoking our kids to anger by routinely speaking to them in gentle terms rather than in harsh ones. Routinely speaking harshly to our kids only justifies, in their minds, a rebellious attitude towards us.

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