Do we all end up like our parents?

Do we all end up like our parents?

As I get older I’m starting to realise how much I am like my Mum and Dad.  It is not a bad thing.  My parents have a lot of good qualities that I am grateful they passed on.

But occasionally I might come out with a strange phrase like:  “Don’t panic Mr Mannering,” and think:  “where did that come from?”  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Dad’s Army!

Luke 6:40 says:

“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.”

Recently, all parents became their children’s ‘educators’. However, whether we home school long term, or not, our children are learning from us all the time.  Just as we have ended up like our parents in many ways, our children will end up like us too.

Unfortunately, it is not just the good qualities, or peculiar phrases, that our children pick up.  Sometimes, I watch my children speak impatiently to each other – and I know exactly who they are copying.

In the Old Testament, Isaac lied, saying his wife was just his sister, to try and avoid trouble.  Earlier, his father, Abraham, tried the same trick. (Genesis 26:7)

Isaac’s son, Jacob, tricked his father and brother.  Later Jacob was tricked by his own sons. (Genesis 37:31-32).

It seems that a recourse to deception in times of difficulty was passed down through the generations of that family.

However, that is not all.  Abraham also passed on a strong faith, that held on to God’s promises in the face of impossible circumstances.  In Romans 4, Abraham is described as the father of all who believe and have faith in God.

The reality is that we will all pass on some good and some bad to our children.  The best we can do is pass on a faith that will endure through life’s many twists and turns.

If we can encourage our children to follow Jesus, uniting with him in faith, God will become their father (Galatians 3:26) and start the work of making them more like Him – perfect and holy.  

Theme day Thursday

As it was his birthday, a couple of weeks ago we had a theme day in honour of the children’s father (a lawyer).

We started with barrister’s costumes. The wigs were made by sticking cotton wool to disposable shower caps.

Then I had the kids set up their own pizza restaurant, so we could look at the different ways law comes into play in a business context. 

First they had to sign a contract for the rental of the kitchen and dining room – a good lawyer would check the terms were fair.

Next they had to think about their name and logo, being careful not to copy other restaurants – lest they break copyright laws!

Before making the pizzas, we looked at health and safety regulations. We decided we should all wash our hands and wear head coverings. 


I introduced the famous ‘scales of justice’. Then we weighed out the pepperoni to make sure each child got a fair share.


For our pizza recipe click here and scroll to ‘P’.

While eating my pizza at the ‘Pizza Den’ I sneaked a plastic bug into my food and pretended to start choking. I told the children I was going to sue them for negligence. The owner of ‘Pizza Den’ was furious!



We had a mock trial. Our eldest fought admirably, but unfortunately the judge was biased, and was always going to find in favour of Mummy. A helpful lesson in the importance of unbiased judges!

We read a couple of Kindle books about law and its history. 



And coloured in the royal coat of arms.



Next we looked at some of God’s laws. We made wax tablets by using some wooden craft picture frames. We melted candle wax and poured it in. When it dried the children copied some of the 10 commandments on their tablets. 



We ended with this colouring sheet

Given how much some of the children enjoyed our mock trial, I won’t be surprised if they follow in their father’s footsteps!

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