I’m nowhere near a “raising boys” guru… there’s good chance that I might look back on this post and freak out, but I thought I’d share my thoughts about how I send my boys off to school.

Every morning, when my two boys (yr1 and yr2) hop out of the car to go to school, I tell them the same 4 things, again and again, everyday.

1. Be good
   (not “learn lots”, or even “do what your teachers say”, but “be good”)
2. Be nice to the mean kids
3. Protect the weak kids
4. I love you!

I hope that by the time they’re in yr4 & yr5 and have become the “older kids” in primary school, they’ll have those words always ringing in the back of their minds as they interact with other kids. And I pray it’ll have an effect on their classmates and the whole school too, for God’s glory.

Today, Mitchell asked me why we should “be nice to the mean and protect the weak”. I couldn’t think of any better reason than to say that’s how Jesus has treated us; We’re weak, and we’ve been mean to him! But Jesus has been kind to us by protecting us. We should want to be like Jesus.

photo credit: freeparking