10/27/2025
🕊️ RAISING NONVIOLENT KIDS IN A VIOLENT WORLD
Parenting isn’t just about managing behavior, it’s about discipling hearts.
When we model curiosity, boundaries, and respect in our homes, we teach our children something sacred: that every person bears the image of God and deserves dignity, safety, and choice.
When we say things like:
“Do you want to wash your hair, or should I?”
“You don’t want to be hugged right now, I’ll give you space.”
“You can tell your friend, ‘Stop, I don’t like that.’”
We are doing more than preventing tantrums, we are shaping theology.
We’re teaching our kids that power can serve love instead of control.
That self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of fear.
That boundaries are not rebellion, they are reflections of divine order.
From a psychological lens, these moments wire the brain for emotional regulation and secure attachment. A child who learns that their “no” matters is far less likely to become an adult who abuses power or allows others to.
A child who learns that their emotions are safe to express learns to love, the antidote to both physical and digital violence.
🧠 But today, “violence” often looks different.
It’s gossip in group chats.
It’s shaming in comment sections.
It’s exclusion and mockery behind screens.
When we allow our kids to witness online bullying without response, they absorb a message: that silence equals safety.
But Jesus modeled something different, truth spoken in love, gentleness in power, and courage in compassion.
So let’s raise kids who:
• Know how to name their emotions instead of harming others.
• Know how to set digital boundaries and say “this isn’t okay.”
• Use their influence online to protect, not provoke.
Because “blessed are the peacemakers,” not the passive observers (Matthew 5:9).
Nonviolence starts with our tone at home and continues with how we treat one another in the comment section.
