Picking Their Friends

Proverbs 22:6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(NIV) My oldest, Paris, turned 11 this week and it has taken me this long to recover from the swimming/slumber party. Now, I don't tolerate noise very well, but I promised my wife that I would not say a word about the noise level with the understanding that 11 tweenie girls will romp around my house for nearly 36 hours. Ok, I had to promise twice because when I first mentioned it to Tasha, within 90 seconds I was already fussing. So, on my second go-round I went into my observant mode. As Paris has gotten older, Tasha and I have tried to allow Paris to hang with her little girlfriends more often. Be it via Skype or actual visits, we want to be more comfortable with it. We are the kind of parents though that has to know who the child is, who their parents are, where they live and have been to their homes to ensure that things are on the up and up. So, all the girls present checked out initially. However, we had to sit Paris down after the party and talk about choosing friends. 2 of the young ladies my daughter will not be able to hang out with any more due to how they treated Paris and my home. Now, some people think that I'm cruel for this demand, including Paris, but my daughter is my responsibility and God has put me in charge to train her up in the way she should go. Paris doesn't have the insight that Tasha and I have and I'm not in this gig as Dad to necessarily do everything to please my kids. We do things for our kids to teach, protect, guide and support them. Sometimes it may be hard and they may get upset, but I will always try to make decisions based on the Word of God regardless the reception from my children. Funny thing is, after thinking about it for some time, Paris is now in complete agreement with the decision. That's nothing but the Holy Spirit working within.