Being a Good Parent – Lessons from the Talmud
Parents and grandparents wanting to shape good and emotionally healthy children have an array of contemporary sources to guide them. This week, Rabbi Woznica shares ancient and pertinent wisdom of the Talmud.
“Never threaten children. Either punish them or forgive them.”
—Babylonian Talmud Semachot 2:6
When I was a child, a common phrase among mothers to a son or daughter who misbehaved was “Wait until your father gets home.” Every child understood that to mean the discipline was to be decided later that evening (when Dad got home) and that it was to be meted out by the father, as well.
While today, mothers and fathers are both likely to be involved in matters of discipline, the insight of the Talmud still rings true. The Talmud teaches that making a child wait—in some cases, for hours—to learn their punishment is unnecessarily cruel. Rather, the Talmud instructs parents to punish as soon as possible, or forgive them.
It’s good advice for the parent, and better for the child.
Rabbi David Woznica
[email protected]