A person with good sense is respected;
a treacherous person walks a rocky road.
Wise people think before they act;
fools don't and even brag about it.
-Proverbs 13:15-16
Living foolishly, carelessly and thoughtlessly has hard consequences. It is a bad way to live. Every child is going to make mistakes. They're going to leap before they look. But if the sympathetic side of you always wants to pad them from the bumps so they never experience the painful consequences of their choices, they gain nothing. In fact, since being careless is easier if they get away with it, it reinforces the weak side of them and trains them to say, "So what?" If most of their consequences are not "life threatening" and you do let them experience some painful results of their mistakes, the lessons will stick with them much longer.
He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.
-Proverbs 13:24
Discipline - "Training that develops self-control, character and orderliness." Biblical discipline is not just to punish; it is to train children - to mold and guide them from wrong, hurtful patterns so they can learn to make good choices for themselves. It takes discipline on our part. Kids need trainers, not enablers. They need a negative experience to break them from doing it again. Discipline must be careful and prayerful.
-From The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional by Debbi Bryson; April 20 & 23; pp. 115, 118
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