Thursday, January 10, 2008

Parenting Books

In the past month I’ve read two books on parenting that have challenged and encouraged me. I’m planning on purchasing both books for our home library.

Don’t Make Me Count to Three was recommended by my friend Catherine and is probably one of the best books on parenting I’ve read so far. It’s along the lines of Shepherding a Child’s Heart but the latter is more theoretical. Don’t Make Me Count to Three is full of practical guidelines and scenarios. I was encouraged by the reminder that discipline should always be accompanied by instruction. The author has some good things to say about speaking scripture to your children, avoiding child manipulation, and teaching children through role playing.

Parenting with Scripture: a Topical Guide for Teachable Moments was recommended by my friend Kristi. It covers a variety of topics like bragging, fairness, hospitality, loneliness, etc. and has multiple verses for each topic. (For the record, we will probably be focusing a lot on the “obedience” section for the foreseeable future.) It encourages parents to help their children think biblically by using scripture in their instruction. Each topic also has discussion questions, parenting tips, and guidelines to “take action.” The author encourages different ways to use the book. It’s not just a reference for teachable moments, but also helps to facilitate communication and discover what your children think about certain topics/issues. You can also use the book as a family devotional.

I highly recommend both these books!

2 comments:

Monica said...

Thanks for the recommendations. I need to be looking into these. With older and younger children now I feel like I'm loosing my touch with the smaller ones. Don't want to do that:)

Alaina said...

My mom gave my Don't Make Me Count to Three last year and it's on my stack to read soon! I've only heard great things about it and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I'll have to look for the other one, too!