If they see the parent disrespecting the pastor of the church, for example, this is seen as a disrespect for the church or for the things of the Lord. How then can you expect your children  grow up to trust, to love and to serve the Lord in the beauty of holiness out of a sincere heart instead of  just "because that is what my church teaches." If they see you living the godly Christian life because you WANT to love and serve God, they will understand that. 

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it," advised the wise King Solomon.  But as a parent, you read this expert giving advice to never ever use physical punishment, that one says use it sparingly, another says to beat the stew out of a disobedient child and points out that in Bible days, under the old law, and even yet today in many Middle Eastern countries, the parent who beats a disobedient child to death is not considered to be a murderer but simply setting an example of what happens to disobedient children.  Someone else insists that HER child has always been totally obedient and correction of any kind has been unnecessary and implying that you should be able to do the same with yours. With all the confusing and contradictory advice out there now, who can you believe? 

Common sense is one very important factor. Trying to put yourself in your child's shoes and feel and think the way he or she is thinking is also very important. However, the best of all sources for this instruction is the Bible itself.  The child who learns the principles of serving God and his fellow man as a very young child will not likely stray far from that teaching.  As the old saying so rightly says, "As the twig is bent, so the tree is inclined." A very tiny tree seedling can actually be tied in a simple knot that will make a major bulge and unique grain pattern in the huge tree a hundred or more years later. The appearance of the knot will change fairly quickly and the possibility of ever untieing it will very soon vanish. The little knot is irreversable and permanent. So, too, the early childhood training of your infants and toddlers.

Some people do abuse children in the name of "spanking", but real spanking is never abusive. The "quick swat on the bottom," however may not be the best either, as the child must be carefully made to understand why he or she is being swatted or it is, again, abuse. I firmly believe the old saying which many erroneously quote as 
Bible was right, "Spare the rod and spoil the child." But the Bible was also right when it said, "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath." 

Sadly, far too many truly Godly Christian parents, even Apostolic pastors, have children who are anything but godly.  They wring their hands and wonder why. After all, they protected their children from seeing ungodly things on TV,  didn't allow them to wear clothing considered by the church to be unholy, never let them go to movies or "dress out" in shorts for physical education,  never let them go to the public beaches or swimming pools where they might see someone of the opposite sex in scant clothing and lust or be lusted after by others who might see them in scant clothing.  So why did these children go off into sin as soon as they were old enough to go out on their own?

Let me ask you, how do you become strong? Do you lie in bed and have someone bring your food to you and you just lay prostrate day in and day out on the bed?  No! That produces exactly the opposite result. Doctors and other health care professionals refer to what happens to people who do not exercise as "atrophy" or the shrinking and weakening of the muscles.  To obtain strong muscles and bodies, you exercise, eat right and get sufficient, but not too much rest. Right?  Now let's apply this to Christian child rearing. How would you expect to develop your child's spiritual muscles?  By keeping them isolated and no allowing them to face test and trials of their faith and their beliefs?  Hardly! This is the sure-fire way to cause them to be spiritually weak and their spiritual muscles to atrophy.  And worse, this is a clear demonstration of your unbelief - in this case, a lack of trust in the Lord to keep and protect your children as they flex and exerise their spiritual muscles.  How can they let their lights shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify the heavenly Father as Jesus commands in Matthew 5:16 if they are never allowed out into the darkness?? How can they learn that "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world?" (1 John 4:4)as being a reality and not just words in a stuffy old book that nobody they know lives by if they are never given the opportunity to overcome obstacles? What if not fear and therefore unbelief is it that makes us as parents refuse to allow our children to exercise faith muscles?

That child will be a powerhouse for God whose parents teach them the right way and then allow that child to flex his or her muscles by doing right when faced with the possibility of doing wrong.  That child will be a powerhouse for God whose parents teach their children the right way and then allow those children to flex their muscles by doing right when faced with the possibility of doing wrong.  Yes, do allow your child the opportunity to stumble and fall occasionally but you be there then to pick him or her up and teach them by their mistakes.

In John 15:19, Jesus says, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore, the world hateth you." And in John 17:15-18, He prays "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but 

“But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.
“For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.” (Psalms 5:11, 12).

“O Lord, my God, in Thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me,” (Psalms 7:1).

The Psalmist boldly declares “And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.” (Psalms 9:10). We who call ourselves Jesus' name Apostolic Christians claim to know the importance of His name, but how often do w fret and worry about things we cannot control? Don't we know that "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28). So what can we call our fears and doubts?  Unbelief, of course.

We can quote the scripture, “The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my salvation, and my High Tower"(Psalm 18:2). But then, how often do we lie in bed at night and worry about problems that in the natural seem insurmountable? What is this? What else cane call it but unbelief?

In closing, I have one solution to the problem of rampant unbelief among us Christians.  In this day when we seem so wrapped up in having to go, go, go, we MUST MAKE the time to be holy. We must find time or make time to read our Bibles and pray and seek God's face.  "If My People which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14).  We need to realize that "So then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." (Romans 10:17); "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and "The effectual, Fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16b)can and will  bring our unbelief to an end and our victories to the forefront in our lives.