In a letter written after winning Olympic Gold in 2012, Missy Franklin gave her parents a tearful and heart-warming tribute. She publicly read to them, “This isn’t just a time to tell you something I think you want to hear. This is a time to truly and honestly acknowledge you for what you’ve done for me. You knew that above all else, you were my parents, and your most important job was helping me grow into the woman I was capable of becoming. You loved me!” Missy was thanking her parents for taking true parental responsibility by being her guide, and mentors.

When we are first introduced to Timothy, he is described as one who had “believed…which was well reported of by the brethren, that were at Lystra and Iconium” (Acts 16:1-2). We should realize that such an outcome of good character and testimony did not just happen. Timothy had the godly example of his “grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice,” who had “unfeigned faith” (II Timothy 1:5). We know this walk with the Lord was passed down to Timothy because Paul tells him, “I am persuaded that [unfeigned love is] in thee also.” Simply put, children imitate what they see, hear, and are taught. A commercial in 2016 shows a short excerpt of a 5-year-old boy coloring on a wall. When his father sees it, he angrily calls him “stupid.” Another segment shows the boy subsequently yelling at his younger brother and calling him stupid. However, in the following segment the father calmly tells the boy we should draw on paper but not on the wall, then he lovingly invites his son to help him clean off the wall. The final segment shows the little boy calmly and lovingly interacting with his younger brother. The point in the ad is that children are like sponges. Whether for good or bad, they soak up the behavior they see and incorporate it into the their own lives. This is exactly why it is so vital for parents and grandparents to realize that they are not to strive to be the friend of their child at the expense of parenting. Instead, they must realize that, as Missy said, “… above all else, you were my parents and your most important job was helping me become the woman I was capable of becoming.”

Parents, there will be time to be the friend of your child once they are grown. While they are young be their parent, mentoring and molding them into maturity.