Children and the Proverbs

In the spirit of the previous post (about the Leithart book), isn't it interesting to note that the book of Proverbs, with all of its advice about the adulteress, the woman with out discretion, and the wife of noble character, was written for children (sons in particular, as Doug Wilson argues in Future Men--another must-read for parents of sons). Four times in the early chapters of Proverbs are we reminded by specific pleas from Solomon (4:1, 5:7, 7:24, 8:32) that not only did his audience include children, it was (and is) children. Even his plea regarding the enticements of the "strange woman" was to "ye children" (7:24). How often to we shy away from teaching these things to our children--"Wait 'till they're older," we say--only to find out that they've already started learning the opposite at school, the skating rink, the playground, etc. Parents, fathers in particular, should pay heed to this warning. Read Proverbs--all of it--with your children!