QUESTION:
 does christ want us to control our children or 
to teach  

ANSWER:
 Answer: Ephesians 6:1-3 reads “Children obey your
parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father
and mother which is the first commandment with
promise, that it may be well with you and you may
live long on the earth. And you fathers do not provoke
your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training
and admonition of the Lord.” Proverbs 13:24 “He who
spares his rod hates his son But he who loves him
disciplines him promptly.” 22:15 “Foolishness is bound
up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive
it far from him.” 23:13 “Do not withhold correction
from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not
die.” From these passages it seems that God wants us to
both control and teach our children. Perhaps we could
better empress the idea by saying He wants us to control
them through discipline and teaching. Our children will
someday reach a point in their life when we can no
longer control their behavior. If we have taught them
correctly our hope is that they will remain faithful to
what they have been taught. At various stages in the
development of a child the scriptures clearly indicate
that it might be necessary to discipline them with
corporal punishment. This does not mean that we abuse
them in any way or spank them in a way so as to injure
them. Discipline which involves spanking is designed
to both teach and control the behavior of the child. 
TheHebrew writer considered the subject of chastisement
in the following way “If you endure chastening, God
deals with you as with sons, for what son is there who a
father does not chasten?... Furthermore we had human
fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect.
Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to
the Father of spirits and live?” Hebrews l2:7-1l These
verses indicate that punishment and correction served
the purpose of making us better and bringing us closer
to God. This being true would seem to indicate that we
can at least, in part, control the behavior of children by
proper punishment and instruction. The teaching and
training of children are functions of the home, and not
the babysitter, school, or church. Unfortunately today
many homes fail in this area creating problems for the
family and society in general.