Prescription for raising children
by Russell Grigg and David Catchpoole
Published: 2 April 2009(GMT+10)
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A study by the Mapping America project has found that children have fewer behaviour
problems when they live with both biological parents and attend religious services
frequently.1,2
“Children who worship at least weekly are least likely to have their parents
contacted by school teachers or administrators about school-related problems,”
the report said.2
Those who live with both parents and frequently attend religious services are five
times less likely to repeat a grade, and more likely to be cooperative and understanding
of others’ feelings.
The data were collected from a survey sample of 102,353 children and teens aged
6 through 17 in all US States. This sample represented nearly 49 million young people
nationwide.
It was announced that: “Parents of these children report less stress, healthier
parent-child relationships, and fewer concerns about their children’s achievement.
These differences hold up even after controlling for family income and poverty,
low parent education levels, and race and ethnicity.”1
There’s a very good reason for the researchers emphasizing that point. That’s
because, as the report points out:
“Some social scientists even contend that family structure and religious participation
are only linked to developmental outcomes because of their association with socioeconomic
disparities.”2
This report, however, dispels that notion—a notion popularly proclaimed by
the world’s secular media. This report shows that the positive impact of living
with both parents, coupled with regular attendance at worship services, just cannot
be ignored. For example, when displaying a bar graph comparing percentages of children
who repeat a grade, the report’s authors were unequivocal in their language
(emphasis added):
“Children from intact families who worship frequently are least likely to
repeat a grade. Note the dramatic difference between intact and non-intact families.”2
This report shows that the positive impact of living with both parents, coupled
with regular attendance at worship services, just cannot be ignored.
That would hardly be a surprise to anyone who knows what the Bible says about families.
The biological family is God’s prescription for the proper and best way of
raising children. The fact that in the beginning God made but one man and one woman
shows that He intended that marriage should be monogamous and indissoluble (Genesis 2:18; Matthew 19:3–9 (citing Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 as real history written by the Creator);
see also <creation.com/monogamy>). And it is within this setting that God
blessed the world’s first parents and said, “Be fruitful and increase
in number … ” (Genesis 1:28). Cf. “Children are a heritage of the
Lord” (Psalm 127:3–5).
One purpose of God in instituting families is seen in God’s instructions to
parents to teach their children about God and His Word (Deuteronomy 4:10, 6:6–7), in order to produce “godly
offspring” (Malachi 2:15). When parents follow the Manufacturer’s
instructions it is little wonder that these children have a huge advantage.
The Mapping America project report, however, includes this somewhat sobering snapshot
of young America:
“Despite the developmental advantages associated with an intact two-parent
family and religious training, the survey shows that nowadays less than half of
all American children between 6 and 17 years of age—45 percent—live
with both biological parents and attend religious services weekly or monthly.”2
In the Bible, one of the roles of the prophets preparing for the coming of Christ,
was “to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the
children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6 (NIV)). Luke, quoting this verse adds, “to turn
the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared
for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
There could be a message there for today’s parents!
Related articles
Further reading
References
- LifeSiteNews.com, New Study Find Children Who Live
with Biological Parents and go to Church Fare Best Developmentally, <www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121702.html>,
17 December 2009. Return to text.
- Zill, N., and Fletcher, P., Special Report: National Survey
of Children’s Health finds Intact Family and Religious Participation are associated
with Fewer Developmental Problems in school-age children, <http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF08L48.pdf>,
16 December 2008. Return to text.
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