22:6 Train up. Train up” is from a Hebrew word normally translated “dedicate” or “consecrate.” The phrase “in the way he should go” is, literally, “according to his way”—that is, the “way” intended for him by his God-given abilities and interests. Parents should seek to ascertain this in a child’s nature, and then dedicate him or her to that sacred cause, that the child when grown may make the optimum contribution to the kingdom of God.

22:15 heart of a child. Modern theories of child-raising which allow children full freedom of expression when they are not yet wise or experienced enough to make intelligent choices are self-defeating. See on Proverbs 13:24.