Step 2

Create a Loving Home

Why take this step? Children need love and wither without it. In the 1950’s, anthropologist M. F. Ashley Montagu wrote: “What the human organism requires most for its development is a nutriment of love; the source of virtually all health is in the experience of love, especially within the first six years of life.” Modern researchers echo Montagu’s conclusion that “children suffer serious crippling effects when exposed to an inadequate diet of love.”

The challenge: Living in this loveless, selfish world strains family bonds. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Married couples may find that the financial and emotional demands of raising children make existing marital problems escalate. For example, differences in opinion between a married couple on how to discipline and reward the children may increase tension between two people who already find it difficult to communicate.

The solution: Plan regular time together as a family. Married couples also need to plan time alone together. (Amos 3:3) Make wise use of the time after the children have gone to bed. Do not allow TV to rob you of these valuable moments. Keep the romance in your marriage by regularly expressing affection for each other. (Proverbs 25:11; Song of Solomon 4:7-10) Rather than constantly “finding fault,” look for ways each day to praise your spouse.​—Psalm 103:9, 10; Proverbs 31:28.

Tell your children that you love them. Jehovah God set the example for parents by openly expressing affection for his Son, Jesus. (Matthew 3:17; 17:5) Fleck, a father who lives in Austria, says: “I have found that children are a bit like some flowers. Just as these little plants turn toward the sun to receive light and warmth, children look to their parents for love and for reassurance that they are valued members of the family.”

Whether you are married or are a single parent, if you help your family develop a love for each other and for God, your family life will improve.

What, though, does God’s Word say about exercising parental authority?

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“Love . . . is a perfect bond of union.”​—Colossians 3:14