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Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.  Proverbs 22:6 (NASB)

 

...hanokh la-na'ar al-pi darko, literally "Train (start) a child according to his (the child's) way."  There is a great difference between the training of a child according to the child's way (i.e., encouraging him to start on the road that is right for him), and training him according to a way chosen, prescribed, and imposed by the parents.  The former is in keeping with the child's unique God-given bent, disposition, talents, and gifts.  It is considerate of the uniqueness of the child; it does not treat all developing personalities the same.  As Derek Kidner has correctly observed, since the training prescribed in the verse is "according to the child's way," this verse implies "respect for his individuality and vocation."  In short, "the instruction of youth, the education of youth, ought to be conformed to the nature of youth." 

 

The above translation and interpretation put the onus on the child to choose the right path.  It is one thing for a parent to encourage, nurture, guide, and inform a child so that the child himself is prepared to choose the path that is right for him; it is something else for a parent to choose that path for the child.  From Our Father Abraham page 293 - by Marvin R. Wilson

 

 

 

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