Review: Motivate Your Child: A Christian Parent's Guide to Raising Kids Who Do What They Need to Do Without Being Told by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller

When I got the chance to review this book, I was going through a bit of a struggle with my daughter. We had given her chores to do, but she wasn't doing them consistently without being reminded. I thought that a book like this could help me get her to do that. As I read the book, I discovered that this book is more about helping your child find her conscience and listen to it so that she is motivated to do what needs to be done. As I read this book, I understood that my eight-year-old daughter may not quite be there yet, but there are things I can do to help her get there. Though I don't think I will take all the advice in this book, there are some good points. For example, parenting requires strategy. This is so true. You must think about what you are going to do before you do it, think about what you are going to say before you say it. You must think about how your children are watching everything you do and you are setting an example for them with everything you do and say. The chapters that I really like in this book have to do with spiritual development in your child. I read to my daughter from the Bible when I can, I take her to church, we talk about things that happen in the perspective of our being Christians. But I still feel that I need to do more. The chapters in Part 2 of this book explore how to expose your child to faith by practicing faith in your home. They explore how to help lead a child to Christ, how to talk about the Holy Spirit with your child, and how to help your child connect with the Bible. If you struggle in any of these areas, this book might help to give you some ideas of what to do.

As a little addendum to this post, though, I have to think about something the pastor of my church said regarding parenting books and magazines. Essentially, she said why do we need all these parenting books? Are we not good enough? All these books tell us is that we are not good enough? Will we ever be good enough? My answer is, no. But who are these experts to tell me what to do for my own child? They write these words down without ever having met my child or my family. So I am convicted. I have decided that I am not going to rely on the "experts" anymore for advice about parenting my child. The only experts I need are myself, my husband, and the Holy Spirit. I will be guided about what is right when it comes to parenting my child, and only I know that for sure.

So...no more reviews of parenting books from this blogger...I'll be going a different route.