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Saint Porphyrios: children learn from parents' life, not lectures

What the video says

Saint Porphyrios teaches that children are shaped by the life of their parents in the home, not by rules or lectures. He says children's behavior improves through love, harmony, and understanding between parents, not through reprimands or strictness. Children learn from what they see, how parents speak to each other, react when tired, and whether they actually pray.

The speaker recalls his grandfather never lecturing about God but simply praying with them each night, which left a lasting impression. Saint Porphyrios urges parents to become saints in their relationship to their children through mildness, patience, and love. If you want your children to love God, start with yourself.

Key moments

  1. Most parents think they raise good children by telling them what to do.
  2. Saint Porphyrios says what saves children is the life of the parents in the home, not rules or lectures.
  3. Children's behavior is not improved by reprimands, disciplining, or strictness.
  4. Children need love, harmony, and understanding between the parents.
  5. Children learn from what they see: how parents speak to each other, react when tired, and whether they pray.
  6. The speaker's grandfather never gave a lecture about God but prayed the Our Father with them every night.
  7. Saint Porphyrios says parents need to become saints through mildness, patience, and love.
  8. If you want your children to love God, start with yourself.

The video presents Saint Porphyrios' teaching that children are formed by the daily life of their parents in the home rather than by rules, lectures, or discipline. He states that children's behavior improves through love, harmony, and understanding between parents, not through reprimands or strictness. Children observe how their parents speak to each other, how they react when tired, and whether they actually pray.

The speaker recounts that his grandfather never lectured about God but simply prayed the Our Father with the family each night, a practice that left a lasting impression. Saint Porphyrios urges parents to become saints in their relationship to their children through mildness, patience, and love. The teaching concludes with the direct statement that if you want your children to love God, you must start with yourself.

Main points

  • Saint Porphyrios teaches that children are shaped by the parents' life at home, not by rules or lectures.
  • Children's behavior improves through love, harmony, and understanding between parents, not through reprimands or strictness.
  • Children learn by observing how parents speak to each other, react when tired, and whether they pray.
  • The speaker's grandfather prayed the Our Father nightly with the family without giving lectures about God.
  • Saint Porphyrios says parents must become saints through mildness, patience, and love; to teach children to love God, start with yourself.
6 opinions in the discussion 6 participants, 1 replies to each other The opinion with the most support My parents divorced when I was young, but through the Grace of God I found my Faith. My parents taught me right from wrong and to respect my elders, but God blessed me with His love and protection. 🙏 Read the discussion
27 comments at the source Original on Instagram

Discussion · 6

Opinions are anonymous retellings of real comments from the original discussion. The same colour marks the same participant.

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  • opinion#1816

    My parents divorced when I was young, but through the Grace of God I found my Faith. My parents taught me right from wrong and to respect my elders, but God blessed me with His love and protection. 🙏

  • opinion#1815

    A chaotic home damages everyone in it... but a stable and organized home creates peaceful humans!! I was blessed with a widowed mother who put God first and honoured her departed husband, my father ☦️🙏🏻

  • opinion#1812

    I think children don't resonate with what we say, nor even with what we do, but with who we actually are. For example, say someone has a grandfather who's a raging alcoholic. You wouldn't take his word for anything, you'd question how he lives his life, and yet you could still see the value in him, that he isn't judgemental, that he softens with kindness and so on. I believe children, and people who are alive in the Lord, can see who the person in front of them really is.

    • opinion#1817

      Beautifully said, and I agree that children see who we really are 🙏 But I think who we are shows in what we do and how we react, especially in the hard moments. Someone struggling with alcohol can have a good heart overall, but in the moment their actions might not be the right ones, and children see that too. So it's both. Our heart matters, and our daily actions are how that heart becomes visible to them. Lord help us all to be that example ❤️☦️

  • opinion#1813

    My advice to you as a new dad: when they fall, don't react. Your reaction sets up their response to falling. If you freak out they'll cry like crazy. If you just ignore it, they get up and carry on.

  • opinion#1814

    My father had a wonderful influence talking about God, and every Sunday we would watch a Christian theologist on TV named Charles Stanley. Both my parents made sure we received all of our sacraments, so internally I am spiritual and have a relationship with God, the holy Trinity. I confess and speak to God in a relationship, and I visit church every so often, but I only like going in when there's no mass, just for praying and meditating through Christ, our Lord and Savior. Also I'm with my Yorkshire Terrier Gigi. She sits with me.