Parents: Win the Heart and You'll Win Obedience

Smile, parents; smile, teachers. If your heart is sad, let not your face reveal the fact. Let the sunshine from a loving, grateful heart light up the countenance. Unbend from your iron dignity, adapt yourselves to the children’s needs, and make them love you. You must win their affection, if you would impress religious truth upon their heart. {Fundamentals of Christian Education 68.3}

There is danger that both parents and teachers will COMMAND AND DICTATE TOO MUCH, while they FAIL to come sufficiently into SOCIAL RELATION with their children or scholars. They often hold themselves too much reserved, and exercise their authority in a cold, unsympathizing manner, which cannot win the hearts of their children and pupils. If they would GATHER THE CHILDREN CLOSE TO THEM and SHOW THAT THEY LOVE THEM, and would manifest an INTEREST IN ALL THEIR EFFORTS and EVEN IN THEIR SPORTS, sometimes even BEING A CHILD AMONG THEM, they would make the children very happy and would gain their love and win their confidence. And the children would more quickly LEARN TO RESPECT and LOVE THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR PARENTS and teachers. {Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students 76.3}