Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way they should go so that when they are older they will not depart from it." But what does it mean to train your child? Training your child requires purposeful parenting. Parenting with a purpose includes fostering patience, love, and discipline.

Here are a few things you can do to "train up" your child in a healthy, God-centered way:

Instill biblical truths in your child through actions, not just words.

Instilling biblical truths is important, but modeling biblical truths is imperative. When we try to embody Christlike behavior, we are modeling to our children how to act, behave, and treat themselves and the world around them.

Discipline your child.

Whether through consequences or gentle parenting techniques, discipline is required to keep a child on the right path.

Set healthy boundaries for your child.

Set boundaries so your children can be obedient and follow directions, but also so that they can be safe. Setting boundaries for your children will help them understand how to set personal boundaries for themselves with others.

Show unconditional love to your child.

How we show love to our children will likely be how they give and receive love to others. How do we love them? Do we love our children according to conditions or unconditionally? When we model unconditional love to our children, we are showing them the unconditional love of God and introducing them to the concept of a loving Father at a young age.

Try these steps and follow us on social media @renewed_counseling for more tips like these!