I absolutely believe that it is our responsibility as parents to be the ones to teach them.  I also believe that they need solid teaching at church too.  Maybe it's just us, but it seems like my kids respond better when someone else tells them something that I've already told them.  They say things like "Mom, you were right!" with such shock in their voices. 

Rather than talking about acting like Christians, I try to talk about what the Bible says specifically about certain situations, attitudes, etc. It definitely keeps me on my toes with my own Bible study!  My kids are very open about asking us spiritual questions, and I really think it is because we make it a normal part of our everyday conversations. 

This is a wonderful concept that must be grasped...esp. by me!! I am still learning how to allow the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of my children to transform them, rather then trying to conform them. Oh this is so good and so important to decipher! Thank you for bringing this up.

The truth is, I'm not sure where to start! I do need to let go of some things and just let my children "be". I want them to love the Lord, not dread Him.

The biggest thing for me is something you said, too. It's something I've been pondering but not really praying about: I want my children to know Jesus in a REAL way.
Our church does not do the raising. Our children's foundation starts at home. Church is mostly social. It is fellowship with other Christians. It is not the church's job to "train my child in the way s/he should go". God gave me and my husband that responsibility.

I think some important things to keep in mind is:
1. It's OK, and in fact pertinent, to let our children know we, as parents, make mistakes and are in fact sinners in need of a Savior also. Teaching them the order of command may also be beneficial (God-->Father/Mother and Father-->Mother) Apologizing when we've done wrong speaks volumes
2. It takes time, prayer, and patience to teach and train our children. Great tools including great books, great teachers, etc, can be a great help.
3. Just love God! They will see that and share about our relationship with the Lord with our children. What are we struggling with? What is God speaking to us? How do we best connect with God, etc. Just be open. Pray often. :) Serve one another and serve others, together.

We talk a lot about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. If God is dwelling in us these will increase. Sometimes I put up a chart like this one and have the kids mark their own progress in these.

Great topic.  I find that I do expect my kids to act like Christians, but the truth is probably only one or two of them are at this point.  I have definitely seen my oldest (10 yrs) grapple with convictions.  He gets guilt and I think he gets grace.  The others not so much.  It's hard because I spend a lot of time with them in the Bible, memorizing Scripture, going through character training that is Scripture-based, praying, doing family worship, and talking about spiritual things and after all that I feel like I should be able to see some visible fruit.  It gets discouraging when we have tough days and I'm tempted to feel like it's not working.  Then I remember that the goal is a changed heart, not behaviour modification.  It's true that the changed heart will result in changed behavior, but all too often I focus on I'm seeing or not seeing.  I was very odd and at a young age read theology.  I cannot imagine giving my kids theology.  They wouldn't understand it at all!  I just need to slow down and pray that the Lord will work in our family and that we will glorify Him with our lives. 

Nope.  I hope and pray that God will call them to himself, but at the same time, I'd hate for them to think they were "okay" or right with God as a result of how they live, of acting like a Christian instead of being one.

Like Blesses, I am praying that God will work on the hearts of my youngsters.  There is a terrific parenting book that has helped us recognize the importance of cultivating a soft heart towards God and things of God, "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tripp.  Love it!  God has used it to convict me of so many things in my own life.

As parents it's our responsibility to train our children in the way they should go. I too love the book by Tripp, "Shepherding a Child's Heart." It has been tremendously helpful for both my husband and me. Also the "Jesus Story Book Bible," by Sally Lloyd-Jones is an awesome bible for the little ones to read and make their own. My 18 mo old son asks for his "bibowl" all the time. It is his favorite book, besides "Brown Bear;" he is only 18 months:)

I think constant repentance and talk about our Savior models to our children how important Jesus is to us. If Jesus is the focus of the home, my prayer is that our kid's hearts will sync up with that focus.

Wow. You guys have amazing perspective! Thank you so much for joining in and discussing this....what can we do as parents to nurture our children's relationship with God? Besides providing the obvious...

I think the primary place children should learn about Christ is in the home, but I also think the church plays an important role.  I have 2 daughters (5 & 2) and they bring home valuable truth from church all the time.  I can totally see Christ at work in the life of my oldest daughter & I do my best to answer her questions about faith. 

A couple of resources that I use are:
The Well Versed Family &
The Jesus Story Book Bible

The Well Versed Family has helped me to see how to practically implement Scripture memory into my family.  I'm by NO means perfect in it, but the verses we've learned come up all the time.  It's a great read!

My husband is a college minister so we are always talking about something God-related :)  My girls are learning about missions & such through our everyday life when we pray for our college friends as they go to serve God through missions.  I pray our daily relationships with our awesome students will also make an impact on my girls.

I agree that I want my child to know and love God for himself not because his dad or I tell him too.  I feel that the church is a reinforcer of what we believe and teach; therefore, we as parents have an awesome responsibility to live our lives as Christians before our children.  Just think the church may have our child for a total of 3 hours a week but we are with them 24/7~who will make the most impact on them?  If we imitate Christ I believe, that with all of our imperfections, our children will see the love of Christ in us.  If we are imitators of Christ I believe that our children will become imitators of Christ also.  I too read Shepherding A Child's Heart and agree that it's a great resource to help your child grow in his walk with the Lord. 

I don't have much to add. I agree with all that you have said. We have a little different situation. We have one (and possibly two - our youngest is being tested) asperger's syndrome children. Which makes it interesting.

We are constantly talking about the Bible and Christian topics since we are full time missionaries. The kids are involved with a Bible Club, Bible study, etc. several times a week, so they are in the Word and they know the way that God wants them to behave. I am going to have to read Shepherding A Child's Heart. It sounds like a very good book.

There is one thing that I have inject, though, that has to do with the way that I was raised. It seems that there are many Christian parents on BlogFrog that are very involved with their children - homeschoolers, Christian workers etc. I grew up as a PK (preacher's kid). I remember that on more than one occasion I would hear comments from some of the church goers like "You guys should know better than to run in the church...especially you Tim". I was always treated as if, since I was the preacher's kid, I should know better. We have to remember that our kids are just that...kids. They have a sin nature just like all of the other kids. Although, as Christians, we should be a light to the world, sometimes we drive kids away from the Lord by putting too much pressure on them. We need to be careful about that.