I remember one of the many
stories grandma told us. It’s the story of a young man with a criminal record
who was sentenced to death for killing an innocent neighbor. As soon as the
judge ordered that he be killed by a firing squad, the condemned criminal
requested a session alone with his mother. On his mother’s arrival, he beckoned
that he needed to whisper into her ears. She moved closer and experienced what
could be called the ‘biting of a lifetime’. The embittered son had bitten off
his mother’s ear before the prison wardens could rescue her. The young man
blamed his mother for over-pampering him and more important, for falling to
correct him when he was much younger.
Don’t know if grandma’s story is
a true story, a legend or a myth (Like most grandmas, she was very good at
story telling) but one thing’s for sure, the best and most important teacher a
child can have is the mother. It is not that fathers are not relevant in
bringing up a child in the most upright way but the bulk of the work lies with
the mother. Little wonder, good children are the father’s children and the bad,
the mother’s.
A mother who appreciates an
upright living will find it easy to transfer great attributes to her children.
A perfect example in the bible is Lois who not only succeeded in transferring her faith to
the next generation but also to the third generation (2 Timothy 1:5) so much so
that Timothy stood out among the young men in the church. If as a mother, you
steal other people’s things or condone any act of theft; your children are most
likely to operate in the realm of stealing. If envy lies in your bosom as a
mother, your children may imbibe this trait and envy other people’s successes.
As a mother, you should not only be watchful of what your children do, you
should also watch what you do as a parent because for the most part, your
children may someday be a reflection of who you are now. On the other hand,
they may blame you for the bad character you fail to nip in the bud.
