Nowadays it is difficult to guard the truth from the stream of “free thinking”, that flows over the earth and floods with its muddy waters the reason clouded by the lack of faith.

But you should sow in the heart of your children the seed of Orthodoxy, feed them with the fear of God that leads to love by fulfilling His will. Falling in the fertile ground of the young heart, the seeds of godliness, in time, may bear the fruits of holiness. Try to prevent them from reading those books that are hostile to the truth: the fragile mind is a fertile ground to all sorts of impressions – and, the most important thing, pray to God to protect them from the arrows and the traps of the enemy, entrusting them to Virgin Mary’s protection.

(Translation from Saint Macarius of Optina, Sfaturi pentru mireni, Editura Sophia, București, 2011, p. 42)