Pope-style advice: rules versus relationship in parenting
A host delivers his Pope-style advice, drawn from parenting teacher Dave Herrick: move away from rule-based parenting toward connecting with the child and letting them grow into who God designed. Jesus, he argues, did not come to write 'the new Old Testament'; the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) describes the kingdom's end results rather than laying out rules. When you find yourself reaching for rules, that signals a lack of relationship -- illustrated by having no rule about forks near electrical sockets because the relationship makes it unnecessary. Closing advice: if you find yourself reaching for rules, with parenting or with people generally, double-check the relationship.
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