Parents have the primary responsibility for the spiritual health of their children.  I can't remember just how many times I have had parents tell me that they wanted to allow their kids to make their own faith decisions.  While that sounds nice, the truth is that parents are responsible for the faith decisions of their children – to a point.  I realize that there are, from time to time, those prodigals who wander away from the faith of their families.  I am not speaking of that here.  I am speaking of the cowardice that parents have of speaking the truth to their kids about faith issues.  This was the case with Eli and his sons.  His sons were taking advantage of their positions in the priesthood in a bad way, and Eli refused to do anything more than to give them a slap on the wrist.  So instead of fulfilling his responsibility of being the spiritual director for his children, Eli allowed the abominations to continue.  The resulting prophecy about their future deaths on the same day could have been avoided had Eli gained a bit of a backbone.  But he didn't, and his family missed out on spiritual blessings. 

If you're a parent, have the boldness to speak truth to your children.  Don't be ashamed for doing what's right; it's your responsibility.  Choosing to avoid it carries deeper consequences than the pain of addressing it while there's still time for change.