7 Reasons Why Children Should Listen to Their Parents

All children have gone through the phase where they feel that their parents cannot understand what they are going through and they feel as though they are being held captive because their parents do not give them the freedom that they long for. So there are a few responses that children do when their parents discipline them such as throwing a fit, rebelling against their parents by doing all sorts of misdemeanor, or ignoring them and shutting them out. I will be focusing on the latter for this post.

We have all seen it in the movies and some may have experienced it in real life. Throwing a fit or doing different forms of rebellion may be mild compared to completely blocking off one's parents from his/her life. Some people may disagree because they had a wonderful childhood and their parents knew exactly what to do during those moments of friction between them but not all parents know how to handle situations with their children especially if they have opposing desires or when there is a tension between the child's wants and what the parents know would be best.

Notwithstanding, I know that no matter how great our parents are, they are not perfect and they do make mistakes much like every human being, even in parenting. Having said that, I believe that children should always listen to their parents when they correct them of their wrong behavior or even when they give them counsel or advice in life.

1. It's Biblical.
God established the family as the fundamental unit of society for a reason. He knew that, because of our inclination toward sin and evil, we needed something to restrain us from getting ourselves into further chaos and destruction so He set up the family as the very foundation that would enable us to pass on values of what is right and wrong to the next generation and would help us stay on the right path.

We may try to argue that children are the most innocent creatures on earth but I would like to think otherwise and I believe that parents themselves would know much better than that because children, no matter how seemingly innocent they may be, have inherited the human nature of inclination toward sin and so every chance that they get to disobey their parents, they would. Whenever it so happens that they do not do what their parents tell them, things can go horribly wrong for everyone which is why we keep them safe from harm and teach them what is right and wrong so that when they grow up, they would have the discernment to choose rightly.

For teenagers and young adults who long for independence from their parents, I would say that it would still be best to honor our parents' advice and listen to their words because there are times when we get blinded by our own desires that we do not see the consequences that might arise from our actions and so we need someone to bring us back to our senses. Our parents are primarily the ones whose job it is to do just that and even though we think that they want to strip us off our freedom, they are merely looking out for us.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV tells us, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), 'that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.'" The reason why this command was given again is that God did not want children to go running off, looking for danger, and finding themselves caught in the pit of ruin but He wanted to protect them from their own sinful nature and so the family was established for that very purpose.

It is only right that we listen to our parents because as much as we claim that we know what we want, we don't actually know what would satisfy the cravings within us and we need someone to guide us and not let us loose into our own debauchery. If freedom is what we long for, we must first understand what freedom really is.

2. We owe our lives to them.
We would not even be here without our parents and we should be thankful that they did not abort us. Let's face it, our lives are not our own. There is a purpose for everything that exists in this world and there is a reason why things happen. I'm not saying that we give our lives wholly to our parents but we should consider the fact that they took care of us when we were young and they did not abandon us even before we were born.

I know that there are some people who have been hurt because they feel that their parents did not want them but at the very least, you are here right now and your parents may not have had enough means or wherewithal to raise you but you are alive and well. In that sense, we owe it to them that they gave birth to us.

3. They are wiser than us.
Our parents may not be graduates from Oxford or Yale and they may not hold the highest positions anywhere and we may have a higher level of education than they do but that doesn't negate the fact that they were living in this world far longer than we have. We may know more than they do because of the advancements in technology and communications but our parents have more experience in life than we do and they have gone through what we may be going through right now.

Wisdom is knowledge applied judiciously. Sometimes we think that our parents don't understand what we are going through but I have learned that there are things that we go through that only our parents would understand and relate with us about because we came from them, their genes are in our blood and running through our veins. Their personalities, their strengths, weaknesses, flaws, and even the tiniest details have been passed on to us. Think about it, our parents know us more than we know ourselves and listening to them at times may not be a bad idea.

4. They are our primary support.
Nobody would ever stand by us when our world comes crashing down but our parents would even if it hurts them. Only they can support us when everybody else would leave us for good. Who else would be there for us when we cry our hearts out at night? Who else would protect us and defend us from all those who attack us? When we get heartbroken by somebody, who else would comfort us and tell us "I told you so" but in a caring and loving way?

They are the ones who would listen to us when nobody else is willing. They are the ones who would try to make us feel better even if they knew that it was our fault because they don't want to make things worse than they already are. They are the ones who would tell us the truth and still show how much they care. They are the ones who would assure us that everything would be all right, no matter how things go.

5. They already made the same mistakes we have.
Again, our parents have likely already experienced everything that we are going through and they probably got themselves into the same kinds of messes we have so they know the consequences brought about the actions they made and they know the direction we would be heading if we follow the steps they took so it would be best to listen to their advice because they only want to keep us away from trouble and harming ourselves.

6. They have our best interests at heart.
In connection with the previous points, our parents care about us and know whether or not the path that we are taking in life is actually good for us or not. They do not want for us to make the wrong decisions although at times it would seem that they are too restrictive or controlling, it's most likely because they are worried for us and they simply want us to have a good life.

7. They love us more than we know.
Lastly, all of this is heading to one direction: our parents love us wholeheartedly and no matter what we may have done in life or how much pain we caused them, they would still welcome us with open arms and forgive us for what we have done. They would help us get back on our feet and set us back on the right track in life. Love is the foremost driving factor that causes our parents to do what they have to so that we are provided for and taken care of.

So when you find yourself getting frustrated because your parents keep telling you something over and over again, just think about the numerous times that they actually had your back and remind yourself that you could not have reached anything in life if it weren't for your parents. Whether it be a good or a bad experience, the life you have would not be there without your parents, so we should listen to them with open hearts and minds even if we get irritated at times.