Parenting Made Practical ~ Books and videos

Having children at a variety of ages (from 10 to 20) I looked forward to reviewing the book What Every Child Should Know Along the Way (a guidebook to teaching practical life skills in every stage of life) offered by Parenting Made Practical. I was a little surprised that the "practical life skills" made up a much smaller portion of the book than I expected, with character training making up the lion's share of the book. I shouldn't have been surprised, however, because what really counts in life is character, the practical should automatically follow a child of good character who is diligent, compassionate and trustworthy.

The Chapters in the book are as follows:

1. Dynamic Devotional Living ~ Suggestions on topics for Unstructured Devotions, ideas for setting up Structured Devotions and A Family Prayer Journal
2. Cultivating Family Unity ~ Ideas on activities that will promote Family Togetherness, and ways to encourage Siblings as Friends
3. Gifts and Talents ~ Lists of Gifts and Talents with accompanying scripture references and advice on how to view and use those gifts and talents wisely 
4. Biblical Character Traits ~ This chapter includes a "'process" to develop character, a large list of Biblical Character Traits, Biblical Characters that exemplified those traits, Suggestions on becoming Godly Young Men and Women, and three short studies on Treasures for the Young from the basic "rules" that guide our relationships vertically and horizontally both. 
5. Manners ~ Why we should want to be mannerly, and some specific "manners" to work on in different situations, from home, visiting, church, stores, traveling, and others. 
6. Practical Living Skills ~ lists of age-appropriate skills from age 2-16+. There are things on these lists that * I * don't know how to do, so there is clearly room for improvement, AND, not everyone needs to know how to do * everything * ~ these are just guidelines for when certain skills should be able to be accomplished by the average child. 
7. Personal Safety ~ Most of these are common sense, but it's a good idea to read through these as reminders with each child, as it's easy to forget whether you've actually taught your younger children the same things that you taught your older children.

I really appreciate the positive tone in which this book is written, as it encourages parents and children both towards practical, positive, gracious living. A book that leaves one feeling refreshed in the potential, if perhaps a little daunted/convicted by one's own lack of certain skills and need for growth in certain areas... ;)

The surprise addition to my package that I didn't know was coming...
The Taming the Lecture Bug and Getting Your Kids to Think Video gives some examples of how we as parents often fall into lecturing and offers some tools to help get rid of that habit. The concept of asking questions instead of lecturing and requiring a Yes or No answer is introduced, in order to promote active participation and an actual conversation with your children. Temperaments (in this instance Choleric, Sanguine, Melancholy, and Phlegmatic) are defined and their strengths and weaknesses are explored.

Personally, this lecture had some interesting ideas I could implement, but I have a slightly different outlook than Joey and Carla Link's. I don't expect perfection from my children (because they are NOT perfect, and never will be until they are in God's presence made perfect) and I do choose my battles, so as not to nitpick and "exasperate" or "provoke my children to wrath" as directed in Ephesians 6:4. I also felt a little odd about some of their use of Scriptures and felt that they were taking them somewhat out of context (for example, they suggest not talking with your children if they aren't ready to listen because then you're casting your pearls before swine... I'm pretty sure that is not quite the intent of that verse, however, I also agree with the concept of sending them for a "time out" if they aren't ready to participate in a conversation with you).

I suspect that I would have appreciated the book of the same title (Taming the Lecture Bug and Getting Your Kids to Think) more than the video, as certain things may come off very differently in a video presentation than in the written word, but that may be a personal preference, as I am not much of an instructional video/podcast sort of person in general. ;)

If Taming the Lecture Bug is an interesting concept for you, you should certainly check out the reviews of those who had it for their main review item, as they may have much more to say. ;)
The other book reviewed by Crew members was Why Can't I Get My Kids to Behave 
and other video titles reviewed were Navigating the Rapids of Parenting and Dating, Courting & Choosing a Mate... What Works?

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Parenting Made Practical   
• Product: What Every Child Should Know Along the Way  ($9.95)and Taming the Lecture Bug and Getting Your Kids to Think DVD ($12.95)
• Ages: Adult

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Blessings~

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