One of the greatest strategies you can use in parenting has to do with the power of your voice, because what you say and how you say it impacts your child’s heart. Unfortunately, many parents spend too much time talking about what children are doing wrong and not what they need to do right instead. They say things like, “Would you cut it out!” “Stop it!” “When are you going to get it right?” “You’re making me upset.” “I can’t believe you keep doing this.”

Rather, parents would do much better thinking about what they want their children to say in their hearts, and then using their own statements to their children to coach them to that end.

Phrases such as “stop and listen before you speak” and “double check your work before you hand it in” can teach kids to develop helpful patterns as they hear these words over and over again.

Children believe things in their hearts, and parents contribute to that thinking, both good and bad. When you take time to evaluate the things you say to your child, you can become more strategic in your parenting.

There’s no doubt that parental words are important. Proverbs 1:8 says, “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” That’s one of eleven times in the book of Proverbs that God tells children to listen to their moms and dads. Why? Because parents have something to say. That means that parents need to choose what they say carefully, because their words, and how they say them, impact their kids’ hearts. -Dr. Scott Turansky, National Center for Biblical Parenting

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