Responsibility--Linda and Richard Eyre's

"it is unlikely that a child will accept responsibility that he cannot see, such as talents, potential, jobs, or character, until he accepts responsibilities he can see--his possessions."

 

"Responsibility is not the result of maturity, but the cause of it--and a major responsibility of parents is to teach responsibility."

 

I found those quotes in the book Teaching Your Children Responsibility by Linda and Richard Eyre. If only I had found this book when my children were young; if you are a parent of children under 18, this is a must book to read...i found mine on Amazon for around $5.

 

“On its most basic level, responsibility is obedience. At its next higher level, it becomes morality or care for how our actions and attitudes affect others. Then it becomes discipline. Then, at its highest level, it becomes service. Children learn best through this sequence. They learn first to be responsible to their parents (obedience); then to be responsible to society (morality); then to be responsible to and for other people (service).”

 

“It is difficult for a child to feel responsible to society if he has not previously learned responsibility to his parents. A child usually cannot understand responsibility for his talents or potential until he has accepted responsibility for his actions and for his possessions. Understanding discipline is much easier for a child who understands obedience.”

 

They discuss the three essentials of responsibility: obedience, things, and work. These three are closely tied together. They say, "Much of a child's obedience relates to caring for his things and doing his work. A child learns to take care of his things through the experience of work and obedience. And a child learns to be responsible for work, largely in response to obedience and in pursuit of things.”

 

“The responsibility of things and work are particularly closely associated because children cannot feel fully responsible for things until they feel as though they own them, and they rarely feel that they own them unless they have had to work for them.”

 

I am not sure that these authors are Christians but I suspect that they are. They have nine children and the principles they propose appear to be working in their family. It is very practical; excellent work…every parent should read this.  (in eth 1980’s the Eyre’s were named by President Reagan to direct the White House Conference on Children and Parents.)

 

“Blessed is the one who listens to Me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor of the LORD, but he who fails to find Me injures himself;”  Proverbs 8:34-36