The Purpose of Consequences
Genesis 2:24: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (NIV).
God's plan is for our kids to become progressively less dependent on us and eventually leave our home. We can help them develop the skills they are going to need as adults by allowing them to make more age-appropriate choices and experience the consequences of those choices.
Learning to be a good decision maker is a skill that is learned and kids will make mistakes along the way. We will be tempted to intervene and prevent mistakes or rescue our kids from the consequences of them because we hate to see them in pain. Challenge yourself to adopt a long range perspective and ask yourself what will be more painful - allowing them to make mistakes under your roof or postponing the process until later in life when the stakes are much higher.
When you allow your kids to experience the consequences of their mistakes, you help prepare them to be capable adults.
