As a mama of six children, I’ve seen my share of parenting resources. Some are dog-eared and underlined, others have been “lost” and are no longer on our shelves. Some have offered great tips for one area of parenting and family life or were great when I only had two children. I’ve recently been introduced to a book, What Every Child Should Know Along the Way by Gail Martin, that I wish I would have had from the beginning. In fact, this might be my new favorite book to gift to new parents. I found this book through the great folks at Parenting Made Practical. They also sent along a DVD that I would not have asked for, but am so glad I received, Dating, Courting & Choosing a Mate, What Works?
With our oldest being 17, I really figured we were beyond needing parenting resources. Sure, I might look for advice and tips related to homeschool things with my older children, but the parenting stuff? Nah, we have this figured out. Ha! I’m sure someone is laughing at that one. Two of our daughters are talking about converting a bus and traveling, maybe before college or instead of college. As we started talking about not just safety concerns but practical concerns that they would need to take care of. Things not just related to how they would support themselves, but regular daily life things that need doing. I realized how much my girls really don’t know. We have been doing some intentional things. They hate it when they are sent to the store to pick up butter or whatever. They used to be so shy about doing things like that. But those are exactly the type of skills that we don’t cover in any curriculum or Biblical character discussions. These life skills that all children need and we assume they are picking up as part of their chores and living in our family. Just like with any learning, there are gaps. I would not be aware of these gaps were it not for the lists found in What Every Child Should Know Along the Way.
After reading about this book in order to make a selection for this review (I really didn’t want that Dating DVD), I figured this would help us identify and make goals to fill those gaps. Well, when I actually got the book in my hands, I was surprised to see that these practical skills weren’t addressed until late in the book. What?!? What are other things that children should know that would come before these practical skills? It turns out quite a bit. The book also covers devotional living, family unity, gifts and talents, Biblical character, manners, and personal safety. My favorite is actually the section on gifts and talents. Not only is it helpful to guide our children to discover these gifts God has given them, but how to develop and use them. We want to encourage them to use their talents for good, not personal gain. These gifts are for God’s glory, not to make a name for themselves. I really, really appreciate this in a day and age when our children are seeing young people becoming famous for posting videos on social media. Books like this aid us in helping our children build a right relationship with God – for themselves. These topics are covered in a way that points us to Scripture and not any specific denominational beliefs. This is truly a great resource for any and every parent. The life-skills chart starts with two year olds, but many of the other topics from character to manners can include your youngest children.
Now, that DVD I didn’t want? I was surprised at the extra item shipped with our book. Of course it is that dating DVD I didn’t want. I put off watching it until I couldn’t any more. I was expecting it to be about courtship. While the idea of this way of dating – or getting to know a potential mate is nice, we had decided it was not for our family. I have seen too many bad endings. I was very pleased to learn that this is *not* what the DVD was about. Nor did it go to the other extreme of casual dating. We have actually found a resource that is in-line with what our thoughts are on the subject of our children dating and finding a spouse. You know, besides the “no dating until you are 30” line their father enjoys teasing them with. After reading a few other reviews, I know I want to order the accompanying workbook, too. This is going to be a great and timely resource (we do have 3 teenage daughters after all).
Read the reviews for all the great resources other Crew families have reviewed from Parenting Made Practical.
