When Parents Disagree

 

Ten year old Sandy stood still and listened as her mother listed all ten reasons why she couldn’t go to her friend’s sleepover.  The main reason was it was a school night but her mom had misgivings about letting her go because she didn’t know the family. 

After dinner that night Sandy brought her father a second piece of dessert and then in front of her mother sweetly asked her father if she could go to the sleepover.  Her father did not know her mother had said she couldn’t.  So he immediately said; “Yes. Of course.”  Obviously it had happened before and Sandy knew how to play her mom against her dad.

Has that ever happened to you? Here are some steps you can take to prevent it from happening again.

As parents, never contradict each other in front of your child. Parents need to show a united front. Talk to your spouse without your child around.  Plan what you will do when just such a scenario happens.

 My husband and I would speak up right away and let the other know the situation had already been dealt with.  He would then tell our child he didn’t know I had made a decision.  He stood by my decision and apologized that he hadn’t discussed the question with me first. So eventually our children learned pitting one parent against the other didn’t work.

In the Bible we read of Isaac and Rebekah not only pitting their boys against each but deceiving each other as parents.  There was a time when I had a hard time respecting the Patriarch Isaac because of this weakness of having a favorite.  But God revealed people in the Bible just as they were in real life.  He never sugar coated them.  I like that because it tells me He accepts me when I’m weak in an area and fail.  He still uses me and works everything out for good; His and mine.

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I want to walk with you spiritually this year, inviting you to read the Bible through from cover to cover; from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation 22:21.  If that sounds too difficult for you and your kids, you can join in again after you have taken a break or join us for the days you’re up to it.  We will start on Sunday, January 18th and finish Saturday, January 16, 2010.  I promise that you will understand the Bible in a much deeper way if you read it through from cover to cover in a year’s time.

Accept my challenge to read the Bible through in one year chronologically, including the Old and the New Testament.

Day 12: Today read:
Genesis 26:17-27:46
Matthew 9:1-17
Psalm 10:16-18
Proverbs 3:9-10

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