How to Use Your Marriage as Your Best Parenting Toolნიმუში

Model the Love You Want Them to Have

Your marriage is your child’s first love story.
Before they ever experience romantic love themselves, they are watching yours—and how you love each other is shaping their understanding of what love, respect, and safety look like.

As parents, we hold a powerful influence. Our children don’t get to choose the example we set, but we do. When Proverbs 22:6 tells us to “train up a child in the way they should go,” that training doesn’t just come through our words—it comes through our example. And the way we love each other is a big part of that.

There are no guarantees on how our kids will turn out—but there’s no denying that the environment we raise them in leaves a deep and lasting mark. That’s one of the biggest reasons my husband and I shifted our counseling focus solely to marriage. Nearly every individual we met who was struggling emotionally or relationally came from a broken or unstable home.

A strong, God-centered marriage provides something every child longs for: safety, stability, and security. And when children are launched into the world from that kind of home, they carry those blessings with them into every relationship they build.

Let your kids overhear words of encouragement and affirmation. Let them witness forgiveness, gentle affection, and acts of kindness. Let them see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 come alive in how you love each other—because that’s how they’ll learn what real love looks like.

Your love story doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to be intentional, honest, and rooted in Jesus. Because the way you love each other might one day be the standard your children use to choose their own spouse—and that’s a legacy worth investing in.

Reflection Question:
What kind of love story are you writing in front of your children?