In most homes today, an imprint of punishment has been engraved in our minds and hearts, as the only way to win a child over, after correcting his/her wrong doings, and devising means and methods of punishment is “I want the best for you”.

Well spanking, punishing or grounding a child is not a wrong step to take to teach correction and drive home the importance of being remorseful after wrong acts, but is that really, the only remedy to building a child in the right way and creating what's best for him/her?

There comes a certain age and time when your words, shouting, yelling and scolding wouldn’t send the slightest signal to any nerve. There are limitations to almost everything.

You can take a horse to the stream, but you can’t force it to drink from the stream.

Maybe you could try some tricks under your sleeves for he/she might just succumb to your plea. Love and attention is the utmost remedy to almost everything in life. Even the old ones still crave for this in their old age. How much more youths out there who are still trying to stand and do not understand this language or know about the package that comes in being loved or giving love.

“I did everything I could do, gave her everything but she wouldn’t change, I can’t deal with her anymore”…

Never push a child away just because you think things seem not be working. And do not make him/her seek for this love or attention somewhere else because sometimes, they get it from the wrong set of persons, group or communities.

Know this, it’s beyond buying the universe for her even though this has its effects too, love from your heart first, for this reflects in everything you do or say to that child. How did you react when you discovered she had been stealing your money to get drugs and getting high on every alcohol at her reach? Or laying with your friends that came visiting you? What did you say? What was your next step of action? Threw her out? Prison? A military school?.

A bridge with no solid foundation is what you build when you push or keep her away.

Well it might look like it’s not working but with love comes patience too. For even the man with the hardest heart has an atom of remorse in that large heart of his. It’s never gonna be easy but you have to keep at it. For if a sinner could find his way after being lost for a long time just because of the brethren who chose to pay attention and share the love of God which has been shed abroad in our hearts through the Word of God how much a child, teenager or adult who is still not sure if he/she is treading on the right or wrong path.