Proverbs 22:6 says to “train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Some translations say “start children off the way they should go.” Starting them off on the right foot spiritually plays a vital role in their future success. What we teach them about life, church, commitment, and will to serve will determine the direction they move in the future.
One time we had to do a family tree as a project for a psychology class in graduate school. At first it seemed like busy work. We had to fill in ever family member, both distant and immediate, that we could think of. Then we had to talk about personality traits. Once we completed it our professor told us that each tree we did tells the story of how we got here and, to a large degree, why we behave the way we behave.
I always thought I was incredibly independent and that few people have a big influence on me, but once I took a closer look at the family tree a very clear pattern emerged. The way we think about people, ourselves, our work ethic, our habits. . . most of this is influenced by our environment and what we were taught growing up. So starting our children off on the way they should go is very, very important and will mark out much of their future for them.