My wife and I sometimes talk about how to define "success" for our kids. Our culture is full of answers, few of them particularly satisfying. The most controversial recent prescription for parenting came from the self-described "Tiger Mother," Amy Chua, whose fearsome tactics, she says, will produce brilliantly accomplished prodigies.
While some might balk at Chua's methods (threatening to leave children out in the snow if they don't obey, etc.), I suspect that many suburb-dwellers in America share her performance-based definition of success. Among Texans, we are told that children should be involved in organized sports from an early age, or else they will get "behind." They should be "socialized" into a "normal" childhood. They should get a job.
Okay, a job would be nice. For believing parents, however, there is more. Knowledge of God is at the top of the list. But introducing them to God falls under the broader category of childrearing. What should we teach our children, and just as important, how should we teach them? Worldly success alone often leads to a morally impoverished life.
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