Books for Parents (Hardcover)

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Product Description

With Focus on the Family's Christian Parents Guide to the Spiritual Growth of Children, you'll have tools to refer to again and again as you build the foundation for the faith of your children. Packed with principles for raising Christlike children, this easy-to-understand resource will give you comprehensive guidance for fun, faith-filled activities--and even a plan for how and when to pass your faith on to your children. From the most trusted authority in parenting, this is the spiritual parenting resource no parent should do without. Comprehensive reference to what children can understand and learn at different stages of their development; Rationale for teaching specific spiritual principles and disciplines; Practical ideas on how to take advantage of teachable moments; Ideas for engaging activities, excercises, and projects to complete individually or as a family; Helps the parent create a customized spiritual growth plan for their particular family; The cornerstone product of Focus on the Family's Heritage Builders ministry

7 1/2 x 9 1/8 hardcover

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #409098 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Amazon.com Review
For many Christian parents, the responsibility of spiritual leadership in the home can be daunting. Never fear! Focus on the Family's Parent's Guide to the Spiritual Growth of Children outlines the basics of successful Christian parenting for parents with children ages 12 and under. Each of the book's three levels provide assistance and guidance: Level One addresses the apprehensiveness of some parents who feel unequipped to initiate spiritual leadership. By giving an overview of the "what, why, and how" of spiritual training, parents will feel confident and prepared. Level Two--"How To Pass On Your Spiritual Legacy"--focuses on pinpointing the character and interests of your particular family. From helping the parent identify the personality types of their children, to explaining what can be expected from them at a particular age, ideas and methods are given for making daily life a spiritual experience that honors the Lord.

Level Three is meant to be a resource that parents can refer to throughout the years as their children grow. Over 100 pages are dedicated to identifying how to teach the essentials to children in the four specific age groups (0-4, 5-6, 7-9, and 9-12 years old). Topics such as "Jesus has always been with God and is God" are followed by tips on how to creatively assist in your child's learning. While attempting to remain nondenominational, theological questions that children may ask are answered, and an entire reference section gives ideas for further reading both parents and children. While there is no formula to ensure that your child will grow up to love the Lord, parents can exemplify spiritual leadership by saturating their children in the truth of the Bible through the material provided here by Focus on the Family. --Jill Heatherly

About the Author
Dr. John Trent is president of the Center for StrongFamilies and StrongFamilies.com, an organization that trains leaders to launch and lead marriage and family programs in their churches and communities. John speaks at conferences across the country and has authored or coauthored more than a dozen award-winning and best-selling books.

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Customer Reviews

Focus on the Foundation of the Family
"Parents' Guide" offers parents an excellent resource for developing the spiritual life of our children. As a pastor and father, I'm glad for Trent & Osborne's research. If the foundation of a healthy society is found in the home, then the foundation of a healthy home is found in our spiritual life with God through Jesus Christ. For another book on Christian spiritual parenting, look into the recently published book, THE FAMILY CLOISTER: BENEDICTINE WISDOM FOR THE HOME, by David Robinson (New York, NY: Crossroad, 2000; 192pp., trade paperback). God bless you in your holy calling of raising spiritual children!

Excellent Reference!
I found this book to be an excellent reference and a wonderful tool for Christian parents. First of all, the authors lead you to discover key characteristics of your unique family, including your general interests, family pace, and Christian heritage. Then you are shown how to assess the personalities of each individual in your family, along with strenghts, weaknesses and teaching tips for each type. As a result, you compose a family plan that will be the most effective way to communicate your faith to your children. The next section of the books guides you in topics that are readily understood by each age level, as well as tips and ideas for teaching those concepts to your children. I was extremely impressed with the amount of useful knowlegde contained in this book, and within days of reading it and implementing it my 5 year old daughter cannot get enough of the Bible and her questions about God!

Excellent Resource for Parents
I have read several books on teaching children about God, but this one by far exceeded my expectations! The wealth of information this book contains in supporting children spiritually and teaching them in many different ways, while acknowledging each child's learning style (and your own!) and your family's pace is amazing. It helps you develop a plan for spiritual growth in your family, not just tells you how and when and where to "teach" children. The only flaw, which I called Kurt Bruner about, was that their many references to "forms available online at www.heritagebuilders.com" was not true because the don't have them on that site any longer. I would have thought that having the forms pdfed on their site would have been an important support of this book... or at least a link to where the forms are.