Quotes by Billy Graham

Before the seventeenth century, a child passed directly into the adult world between the ages of five and seven . . . then came the industrial revolution . . .so the child-centered home was born.

The television, iPod, and Internet have trespassed upon the innocence of America’s children, while preoccupied mothers and dispassionate fathers stare aghast wondering what went wrong. They don’t stop to think of their own contributions to the persuasions influencing their children. After all, where do kids as young as elementary age get money to rent rock videos and the latest rap DVDs?

Someday your children will leave; you can’t hold on to them or control them forever, nor should you.

Children must be taught obedience just as much as they need to be taught to read and write.

Parents need much wisdom in relating to their grown children—and much prayer. Children likewise have much to learn about relating to their parents as the years pass.

Children, pray for the salvation of your parents.

It may shock some parents to learn that we don’t own our children. God has given them to us in trust . . . however, God may transfer our children to His home at any time.

I missed the joy of seeing our children grow and change. I thank God for watching over them during those years.

Our lives speak loudly to those around us, especially the children in our home.

One of life’s mysteries is why two children growing up in the same home sometimes take radically different paths—one following Christ, the other rebellious and scornful. Yet it happens.

God gave us our children so we could prepare them to become adults.

Ruth once wrote, “Dear Journal, Never let a single day pass without saying an encouraging word to each child . . .‘More people fail for lack of encouragement,’ someone wrote, ‘than for any other reason.

Children will learn far more by watching than by just listening.

One of the worst things we can do is allow our children to grow up thinking they don’t need to keep any rules. A spoiled child becomes a spoiled adult.

Love your children—and let them know you love them. Children who experience love find it far easier to believe God loves them.

If a child is to survive, he or she must know the rules of safety. If he is to be healthy, he must know the rules of health. If he is to drive a car, he must know the rules of the road. If he is to become a ball player, he must learn the rules of the game. And, contrary to popular thinking, children appreciate rules.

There is always the exceptional child, but the average tells us that the child is largely what the home has made him.

Children respect discipline. They want to be guided. It gives them a sense of belonging, a sense of security.

If our children grow up with no understanding of right and wrong . . .no desire to live with integrity . . . no faith in God . . .their souls will be impoverished and they will miss life’s highest good.

Children do need the guidance of their parents, and we guide them more by the example we set than by any other way. We need to be firm and sane and fair and consistent—and, above all, we need to discipline in a spirit of love.