by Pat Lamb (Author of Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or www.patlambchristianauthor.co
Train up a child…
Children and their feelings of Guilt
Sometimes children feel guilty when they shouldn’t. Sometimes children don’t feel guilty when they should. Sometimes adults mistakenly have the opinion that since children are young, they should never have to feel guilty. We seldom hear discussion about guilty feelings in children.
God gave us many emotions and feelings when he created man. To try to eliminate any one of them completely would be to tell by our actions that we think God made a mistake. There are reasons for the way God created us. If we never felt guilty about anything, we would never feel a need to change our actions. On the other hand, unhealthy guilt is stifling to accomplishment.
It seems to be a consensus among “experts” that quite often children in broken homes carry a feeling of guilt thinking they were the cause of their parents’ separation. This should not be the case. Someone needs to make sure that children understand they are not the cause of parents not being able to work things out. The blame belongs totally on the parents…not the children. Grandparents may need to step up in some situations, when the parents are unable or unwilling to do so, and make sure that children involved in broken homes do not carry the burden of guilt.
There are times, however, when children should feel guilty. When they know they have done something wrong, they should not be told, “Oh, that’s ok. Just forget it.” Children who don’t deal with guilt usually carry it around with them causing them to act in various ways. Sometimes children carrying guilt will try to shift the blame to another. Sometimes children with guilt act out. Guilt is God’s way of telling us that there is something we need to deal with in our lives.
How do we help children cope with guilt? Truth is always best. If the child has done something wrong, we need to affirm that it is wrong by agreeing with them. Secondly, we need to let the child know that there is a remedy for wrongdoing. The Bible tells us that when we have wronged someone, we should go to them and apologize and try to make that thing right. The story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, is one story in the Bible where Zacchaeus was repentant and volunteered to pay people he had cheated four-fold. (Luke 19) There are many places in the Bible that tell us to have pure hearts. The heart becomes pure by God’s forgiveness. God forgives when we confess our sin. We do not confess our sin unless we feel guilty. Without guilt, there is no shame or repentance. Without repentance, there is no salvation. John, the Baptist, in the New Testament constantly preached that people should repent. Children cannot repent unless they recognize and feel guilty for their sins.
Do young children really sin? Yes! I remember well a little kindergartner who told me “I hate my mother!” The way he said it convinced me that he meant it. Even babies have anger issues. Most mothers immediately recognize the difference in a crying baby’s need and anger. Much crying is because the child wants its own way, not necessarily because it needs something.
It is necessary for us as parents and grandparents to learn to identify the feelings of guilt in children and help them deal with those feelings. We should not try to eradicate all feelings of guilt, but simply teach the child that God will forgive and wipe our sins away as far as the east is from the west if we are truly sorry. That is the only way to adequately deal with guilt.