Motivate Your Child (book review)

Book Description: 

Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN, teach parents how to help children form the internal strength they'll need every day as they grow older.

Parents have the greatest influence on their children's character. Mom or Dad's words, choices, actions, and reactions mold a child's view of almost everything. It can be a terrifying thought. But there is hope.
Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanna Miller have spent years helping parents cultivate a healthy conscience and a vibrant faith in their kids. Motivate Your Child is a straightforward guide to doing this at home. Every chapter includes practical examples of families applying the Bible to their current issues, such as backtalking or being mean to siblings. From the "Integrity Package" to the "The Family Challenge," they offer words to say, plans to implement, and ideas for working it out day by day.

With God's help, it is possible to train and direct a child's internal motivation-motivation that will serve them for the rest of their lives.


My thoughts: 

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, RN, BSN is a parenting book unlike most parenting books. Being a mom of 3, I have read my fair share of parenting books and often am left feeling guilty and overwhelmed with what I am doing wrong and how I am messing up my kids because I am not doing certain things certain ways. Motivate Your Child is unlike that. This is a parenting book. However, the authors offer a guide to parenting that involves heart parenting...using compassion and YOUR family's values to help motivate your child without relentless nagging and yelling. Basically, the authors argue that by developing a child's sense of moral motivation, you will be able to guide your child to be motivated to live the way that they should be living and when they see something that needs done, they will do it because of their moral motivation to live the right life. 


I appreciate the authors Biblical references and spiritual guidelines when they spoke about the moral development in the child. However, I felt it became preachy in the second half of the book where the authors discussed the spiritual development in children. I understand that they argue that these are related, however, I felt that they were being too fundamental when they were talking about leading a child to Christ and that personal salvation is the most important element to a child's heart. I don't completely disagree with that, however, I also don't want to read what sounds like someone preaching to me about leading my kids to salvation. 

Overall, I felt that this was a good read. I took from it what I felt could help my family, which is what I think can be expected from reading parenting books. I would recommend it to new moms and dads and anyone who is a Christian and looking for a Christian perspective on parenting.  

Disclaimer: The publisher, Thomas Nelson, provided me a free copy of this book through Booklook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.