Shepherding a Child's Heart

Intellectual Change
Intellectual change is just as dramatic. The young child is a
meaning maker. He hears language and generalizes the rules of
grammar. Even his mistakes follow the logical grammar patterns—“I
thinked” instead of “I thought.”
Every experience is a learning experience. Curiosity abounds.
Why do doors turn on hinges? Do things exist when I don’t think
about them? Why do things fall to the ground? Can people see me
when I close my eyes? The child learns to talk, to count, to tease, to
be funny, to be serious. He learns values—what is important and what
isn’t.
Spiritual Change
He is developing spiritually. That development may be
shepherded along the lines of knowing and loving the true God, or it
may be ignored. Both produce spiritual development. Because he is a
spiritual creature, he either learns to worship and rely on Jehovah
God, or he learns to bow before lesser gods.

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Summary
The rapid changes during these early years give parents grandiose
ideas about their children. Many parents are sure their kindergarten
children are geniuses. They have to be; they catch on so well. They
have learned so much in such a short period of time. Parents are sure
there is no limit to this child’s capacity.
Understanding Authority
With such dramatic changes over a short time, it is easy to lose
focus. Where should you put your energies? You need a single over-
arching training objective, narrow enough to give firm direction in
concrete situations and broad enough to encompass the changing
world of the young child.
One Big Lesson
The most important lesson for the child to learn in this period is
that HE IS AN INDIVIDUAL UNDER AUTHORITY. He has been
made by God and has a responsibility to obey God in all things.
The key passage of Scripture for this period is:
Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor
your father and mother,”—which is the first commandment with
a promise—“that it may go well with you and that you may
enjoy long life on the earth.”
(Ephesians 6:1–3)