Susannah Wesley’s Rules for Raising Children

Posted by Worldview Warriors On Monday, February 15, 2010 1 comments


This famous mother of nineteen, including Charles and John Wesley, set down these rules.

1. Allow no eating between meals.
2. Put all children to bed by 8 o’clock.
3. Require them to take medicine without complaining. (Those were the days of cod liver oil.)
4. Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.
5. Teach each one to pray as soon as he can speak.
6. Give them nothing that they cry for and only what they ask for politely.
7. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented of.
8. Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished.
9. Never punish a child twice for the same offense.
10. Commend and reward all good behavior.
11. Reserve property rights, even to the smallest matters.
12. Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.
13. Strictly observe all promises.
14. Teach children to fear the rod.

Note: “Old fashioned?” The world could do with some men like John and Charles Wesley.

1 comments:

Sean Nienow said...

Everything except #1. It's actually healthier to eat smaller meals, with healthy snacks in-between. But that's more a science thing than a moral/character thing.

Good list. I've seen it before, but haven't read it in a long time.