1. Honor your mother - While it looks strange to emphasise only the mother and not the father, the authors have their reason. Honour is a decision to put your mother ahead of yourself. Honouring the mother is a keystone habit and cascades down into other behaviour including honouring the father. Prioritising what is important to mother – clean room, made up bed, respected tone. This keystone rule provides the relational WHY behind the WHAT; it is essential to be on the lookout for the connection between the regulations and the relationship and the impact of breaking the rules on the relationship.
The case illustration of the wet towel left by the child on the bed. Their irresponsibility eventually becomes someone else’s responsibility.
As his father, our relationship with our spouse will lay the foundation for honouring the mother. The child will not see you as defending your spouse’s honour.
2. Don’t tell a lie - Lying breaks a relationship. Rules and regulations must be anchored to the preservation and protection of relationships. Remind the child that lying will hurt and injure the relationship. Self-protection is instinctive and not owning up. You need to train the child, to tell the truth. It requires coaching as it is not intuitive.