Raising children is a blessing—no doubt about it. But as parents, if we ignore our responsibilities, the consequences are born by society.

A young mom brought her son, Billy to my office with a sore throat. When the nurse tried to swab his tonsils to test for strep, he kicked her hard enough to take her breath—mom said nothing.

The nurse left the room and approached me in tears. I assured her that she had done nothing wrong and was not to go back into the room—I would take care of it myself. I won’t expose my nurses to abuse.

When I entered the room, Billy had a scowl on his face—mom sat meekly in the corner. He snapped at me, “You’re not going to touch me!” I looked at mom—she was lost, and this kid was in charge. He had been in charge for a long time.

I turned back to Billy—“Who are you?” I asked. This time he had an angry, confused expression—he gritted his teeth. “Billy,” he grunted.

“Yeah, I know your name, but who are you? More importantly, Billy—who do you think you are?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Well if you don’t know who you are, let me tell you who I am. I’m the doctor that is going to find out why you’re sick. I will touch you when I want to. I will do whatever I have to, to find out what’s wrong and treat you for it. Because here in this office, Billy—I’m in charge.”

At first he was speechless, then turned to his mother in the corner. “Billy, don’t look at your mom—she won’t stop me. She won’t stop me because she wants you to get better. That’s why you’re here—because she’s worried about you. If she loves you, she will let me do my job.” I had to make certain she wouldn’t fold to his antics.

She sank into her chair a little, and nodded her head. Billy looked back at me. “You want to get out of here? Tell me what’s wrong and lets get you better. Got it?” He nodded his head slowly.

I turned to his mom as I kept talking to Billy. “Just like I’m in charge here in my office, your mom is in charge at home, and everywhere else—not you. You will never be in charge of your mom—understand?” He slumped back against the exam table—no response. “Billy?” He sat up straight again and said, “Yes Sir.”

There it was—he knew what he was supposed to say because he had been raised with proper manners, but somewhere along the way his will took over when his parents didn’t hold him accountable. I’m sure it wasn’t a conscious effort to let him slide that first or second time, but it happened nonetheless.

I am a firm believer in boundaries throughout life, and boundaries for kids are extremely important. Establishing and enforcing the proper boundaries for children will shape their character and prepare them for life.

This is not an easy task, but it’s entrusted to us by God. It may seem exhausting, but there is no greater calling than to parent responsibly. Don’t leave it up to society to train your children in the way he or she should go—you may not like the outcome.

One book that outlines establishing proper boundaries for children is Dare To Discipline by James Dobson. I recommend it highly—I think my kids turned out great.

By the way, Billy is just fine.

Question: Do you have tips for parenting that may help others?