How can parents use the book of Proverbs to train their children?

Jason Dohm emphasizes the role of Proverbs as a guide for discipleship, particularly in the context of parenting. He explains that unlike a classroom teacher, parents have the unique opportunity to influence the life of their children in a profound and enduring way. The book of Proverbs begins with a father's call to his children's hearts, demonstrating a model that parents should strive to emulate. This is not simply about imparting knowledge, but establishing an affectionate connection to the heart.

He further explains that while there is content to be taught separately from this heart connection, it should never be entirely separated from it. This affectionate connection is something unique that parents can offer their children. By using the Proverbs as a guide, parents can aim for and call for the hearts of their children, wielding a life-changing influence in their lives.

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV): "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."

The book of Proverbs is really a textbook for discipleship. The book of Proverbs starts out with a father calling for the hearts of his children. So this is the distinction between a classroom teacher that can be helpful in some ways and a parent that can wield life-changing influence in the life of their children. Parents ought to be, like the Proverbs, begins calling for the hearts of their children and then aiming for the hearts of their children. Is there content that we impart apart from an affectionate connection to the heart, of course there is, but it's not disconnected from an affectionate connection to the heart, and that's something that parents can offer.