Choosing the Right Rectangle
It is, was, and ever will be the responsibility of parents to do all they can to rightly instruct their children. It is an inescapable responsibility/privilege/trust that parents hold beneath the eyes of God.
So, think about this...it is a modern-day reality that virtually all parents face:
If we found out that there was a family where the parents had painted a 3" by 6" rectangle on their living room wall for each child, a small painting, and their six children were forced to stand close and look at it for six hours each day, we would probably cheer when those parents were sent to jail.
If we found that there were parents just like that who demanded that their young children go down to main street and ask strangers to teach them about any subject that the strangers wished to talk about...for 6 hours each day every day...we might feel pleased that those parents were sent to jail.
But if we found out that there were parents who allowed their children to look into a 3" by 6" cell phone screen where strangers talked with them or sang to them or texted with them about anything that they wished to talk to the children about then we might be forced to admit that 'Yes...I let my children do that as well, if the truth be told. But everybody does, really. All of the parents allow it, and all of the children do it."
Well, the Bible is a rectangle. And it opens up great and mysterious worlds to the minds of children, exposing their intellects and souls to God's wisdom and man's history. It can lead them to the conclusion that man is a lost creature and that they must accept God's Christ and be baptized and follow Jesus the Christ to be saved...to escape spending eternity in the bad, bad place and to be granted unearned residence in the good, good place.
What if you force (yes, I said it...force) your children to become familiar with the better rectangle by far...with the Bible, which is the word of God? After all, you are the parent. You force them to not stick their hands into the fire in the fireplace, right? You force them to not poke things into electrical outlets, right? There is room - much room - for imposing some parental authority upon your children when and where it is necessary for their welfare. We all know that. We all know that very well. So, can parents allow the little rectangle to teach their children anything and everything while not even training their children about the riches and treasures contained in the larger rectangle? The Bible is the far superior rectangle.
And...it is awesome family bonding time. It really is.
Send your grown children out into this tough and wicked old world with as much of that good stuff (God's word) inside of them as you can possibly fortify them with. Ensure they are well familiar with God's word, and make sure they see that you yourself both believe in it and live it and model it in your life. There must surely be great reward from God for the parent who does this, though you would, when you really get down to it, only be doing your job.
God's word is a staff and a shield from harm and evil that your children can carry with them when you are unable to be there with them. In fact, they will be far better protected than by any protection you could offer them were you with them in the flesh.
Be a true parent. Feed your children copious amounts of God's words and wisdom whether they understand the need to or not. You are older and wiser than them even if you are still messing it up your own self sometimes.