What Does the Bible Say About Raising Children?
Train up a child in the way he should go — heritage, discipline, and nurture. Scripture's counsel for parents.
The Bible calls children “an heritage of the LORD” (Psalm 127:3) and gives parents a double charge: nurture — “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” without provoking them to wrath (Ephesians 6:4) — and formation: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
Children are a trust, not a trophy
Psalm 127 reframes the whole enterprise: children are a heritage from the LORD — arrows in a warrior’s hand, made to be aimed and released. Parents in Scripture are stewards of persons who belong first to God. Jesus’ own welcome of children — “Suffer little children… for of such is the kingdom of God” — dignifies them in an age that counted them last.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Teaching woven into the day
Deuteronomy’s model of instruction is domestic and constant: these words shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children — talking of them sitting, walking, lying down, rising up. Faith is passed on less by lectures than by a household’s ordinary rhythms. Timothy’s faith, Paul notes, arrived through a grandmother and a mother before any apostle reached him.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Discipline with a warm face
Biblical discipline is correction inside love — the pattern is God’s own: “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” Proverbs urges parents not to withhold correction; Ephesians and Colossians balance it instantly: provoke not your children to wrath, lest they be discouraged. Firmness without harshness, standards without exasperation — the two rails Scripture keeps parents between.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Quick answers
- What does “train up a child” actually promise?
- Proverbs 22:6 is a proverb — a general truth, not a mechanical guarantee: formation in the right way tends powerfully toward a settled adult path. It calls parents to faithful sowing while leaving outcomes to God.
- What does the Bible say about a parent's example?
- Deuteronomy 6:6 puts the words in the parent’s heart before the child’s ears — you teach what you are. Scripture’s families (David’s included) show children reading lives more closely than lessons.
- What should I pray for my children?
- Scripture models praying for their salvation and wisdom (2 Timothy 3:15), their protection (Job 1:5), and that they walk in truth — “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4).
