Motivate Your Child by Dr. Scott Turansky & Joanne Miller.

 

Motivate Your Child by Dr. Scott Turansky & Joanne Miller.  

We need a parenting revolution!
Most parenting approaches end up encouraging children to ask the wrong questions about life: What’s in it for me? Are you going to pay me for that? What’s the minimum I need to do to get by?
But God’s Word gives us a better way to parent, one that builds strong internal motivation in children. When parents change the way they parent, kids change the way they live. This practical book explores a theology of internal motivation and then gives parents real-life solutions to equip their kids for life.
You’ll learn . . . 

• how to parent in ways that build internal motivation so that kids don’t have to rely on you to get things done.
• The four promptings of the conscience and how to coordinate your parenting to take advantage of them.
• ways to energize your spiritual training with fun and creativity.
• how to help children respond to mistakes instead of blaming, defending, or justifying.
The greatest gift you can give your child is strong moral and spiritual development—this book shows you how. Every chapter includes practical examples of families applying the Bible to their current issues. Join the revolution!

I have enjoyed reading Motivate Your Child.  I feel that the authors have something different to say that adds to the conversation on parenting.  They talk about the conscience and how different children react to discipline when they make mistakes.  I discovered that my daughter reacts differently than either my husband or myself to learning she has made a mistake.  That has made a great difference in my parenting her, and I feel like our relationship has improved since reading this book.  I feel for the first time I am making some progress with her, and reaching her.   It has empowered me as a parent.  My husband said this alone made the book worth reading. 

Motivate Your Child has many examples of conversations other parents have had with their children to help them become responsible adults.  I found this very helpful, and it has given me ideas on how to start good conversations with my kids.  I liked the variety of stories and the different kind of families they used in their examples.   The authors do a great job painting visual pictures that help clarify their points.  

Lastly, what I love about this book is that it is a relational book.  This is not a get your kids to do what you want in 5 easy steps.  The authors talk about working with your child's heart, showing your child how they can change, and how you can guide your child to become the person God wants them to be. I highly recommend reading it. 

Both of the authors will be at the Midwest Homeschool Convention this weekend in Cincinnati. You might enjoy hearing them speak and stopping by their booth.  

ABOUT AUTHOR: Scott Turansky has been a pastor and missionary for more than 33 years and is an author of several books. In addition to pastoring full time, Scott also conducts parenting seminars on Saturdays around the United states (http://www.effectiveparenting.org/). He is the co-founder of the National Center for Biblical Parenting (www.biblicalparenting.org) and has co-authored four books.
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review from Book Club Network.