Wisdom of the Early Church on Raising Saintly Kids

Parenting is always challenging. And although there is an abundance of expert advice out there on the correct and most effective ways to raise healthy, happy and well-balanced kids, it can often feel overwhelming for parents to navigate through it all. For us Christian parents, it is even the more difficult to prioritise our faith whilst giving our children every opportunity to meet societal expectations and succeed in other facets of their life.

Fortunately, the Early Church Fathers have plenty of advice to share with us parents, and their underlying message is resoundingly simple – Focus on what matters most!

Here are 10 great pearls of wisdom from the Early Church Fathers pleading with parents to prioritise the spiritual wellbeing of their children over everything else.

Is their wisdom relevant for the parents of today? I’ll let you decide.

1 – “The primary lesson for life must be implanted in the soul from the earliest age. The primary lesson for children is to know the eternal God, the One who gives everlasting life.” — St. Clement of Alexandria

2 – “Let nothing be taught to children except those which nourish the soul and make one a better person.” — St. Cyprian of Carthage

3 – “Teach your child this lesson: the rewards of evil are temporary; the rewards of Godliness (good character) are eternal.” — St. Cyprian of Carthage

4 – “Young people must be made to distinguish between helpful and injurious knowledge, keeping clearly in mind that Christian’s purpose in life. So, like an athlete or the musician, they must bend every energy to one task, the winning of the heavenly crown.” — St. Basil the Great

5 – “Rear your children in the Lord…Teach them from infancy the Word of God. Discipline them when needed, and render them respectful to legitimate authority. Never let them exercise authority over you.” — The Apostolic Constitutions

6 – “With us everything should be secondary compared to our concern with children, and their upbringing in the instruction and teaching of the Lord.” — St. John Chrysostom

7 – “An important part of a child’s education is story-telling, since good stories excite the imagination and strengthen the bond between parent and child. Stories from the Bible are preferred, and the child should repeat them often, to underscore full comprehension.” — St. John Chrysostom

8 – “We are so concerned with our children’s schooling [and worldly success]; if only we were equally zealous in bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord…This, then, is our task: to educate both ourselves and our children in godliness; otherwise what answer will we have before Christ’s judgment-seat?” — St. John Chrysostom

9 – “In children we have a great charge committed to us. Let us bestow great care upon them, and do everything that the Evil One may not rob us of them. But now our practice is the reverse of this. We take all care indeed to have our farm in good order, and to commit it to faithful manager, we look out for it an ass-driver, and muleteer, and bailiff, and a clever accountant. But we do not look out for what is much more important, for a person to whom we may commit our son as the guardian of his morals, though this is a possession much more valuable than all others. It is for him indeed that we take such care of our estate. We take care of our possessions for our children, but of the children themselves we take no care at all. Form the soul of thy son aright, and all the rest will be added hereafter.”— St. John Chrysostom

10 – “Hear this, ye fathers, bring your children up with great, great care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Youth is wild, and requires many governors, teachers, directors, attendants and tutors; and after all these, it is a happiness if it be restrained. For as a horse not broken in, or a wild beast untamed, such is youth. But if from the beginning, from the earliest age, we fix in it good rules, much pains will not be required afterwards; for good habits formed will be for them as a law. Let us not suffer them to do anything which is agreeable but injurious…Let us admonish them. Let us employ sometimes advice, sometimes warnings, sometimes threatening. Let us bestow great care upon them, and do everything, that the Evil One may not rob us of them.” — St. John Chrysostom

Additional Advice

And of course, possibly the most crucial piece of advice, which is given by St Ignatius of Antioch, and implied in the instruction of the other fathers is this:

Have you come across other valuable advice from the Early Church Fathers on parenting? If so please share it in the comment section below and I’ll endeavour to add it to the list! I am sure there is a wealth of sound saintly advice out there that we can all benefit from.

God bless

Marco

 

Resources:

Raising Children According to Saint John Chrysostom

Admonitions for Parents: Lessons by Our Holy Father John Chrysostom on Raising Children