It all started in INFANCY (think about it): (Excerpt from my book)Before you start looking at Godly parenting, you must grasp the concept that everything on earth is a microscopic model of our relationship with God.  Everything on earth needs to be as it is in Heaven.  By that I mean, He is our Heavenly parent and you are to be a parent to your child as He is to you in as much as it is humanly possible.  Know that He is there to help and guide you all the way and do not forget this concept.  You are the bride and your husband the groom, just as the church is the bride and Christ is the groom.  GRASP these concepts.  This will help you put things into their proper perspective and help you see the big picture through the smaller picture and vice versa.  This is the true and perfect will of God as outlined in scripture.  Matthew 6:10.  However, we live in a world plagued by sin and I realize that everyone reading this book may not have a Christian marriage or even be married.  The concepts for Godly parenting remain the same even if our choices on earth have brought about different consequences.  Your goal is to fix what you can and parent as Godly as you can.  Transfer your Christian life into raising your child.  Just as you were once a newborn Christian and needed food and guidance to grow spiritually, implement the same principles into the raising of a Godly child.

Like newborn Christians infants are a sponge.  They learn daily even when you do not notice the change.  Early on you must decide your ultimate goals of raising your child and so you decide at infancy what kind of parent you are.  Do you want to raise a Godly child?  How Godly?  Are you willing for them to be set apart a peculiar people unto God? Or are you more worried about how your child will be accepted?  Are you feeling overwhelmed yet?   Being a parent is overwhelming.  You have been placed as a steward over a gift from God.  We read in the Gospels that we are entrusted as stewards over talents given us. Matthew 25 Talents are any gifts from God and include our Children.  What will you do with your ‘talent’?  The temptations are strong to make them the most attractive, popular, talented … you get the picture.  None of these are bad things unless they are your priority.  Of course you want them dressed and looking cute.  You want them liked and you want them to succeed in school and extracurricular activities.  But, wait, how is that affected at infancy?  When you hold that precious infant in your arms you need to begin daily praying for them as well as yourself as you raise them.  You pray for their future, their eventual mate and how God is preparing that loved one for them.  Do you think this is too early?  Well I assure you satan is not going to wait on developing that sinful nature in your precious bundle.  Never forget you are in a spiritual warfare no matter how precious and angelic that child is asleep in your arms.  So make your decision now on what kind of parenting you want to do and then take action.  Ephesians 6:4
Parenting can be broken into several types:

(1) Controlling
(2) Indulging
(3) Self-centered
(4) Involved

These are described in the first chapter of my book, Mom2Mom.