The Christian Parenting Handbook

50 Heart-Based Strategies for All the Stages of Your Child's Life

Scott Turansky, Joanne Miller RN

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781400205202

Bring about real and lasting change in your child's life and grow in your confidence as a parent.

With advice on parenting coming from friends, social media, popular culture, and so many other places, what do you listen to and what do you ignore? In The Christian Parenting Handbook, you will learn to develop your own biblical philosophy of parenting and use it to filter the many ideas that come your way.

The Christian Parenting Handbook by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, founders of the National Center for Biblical Parenting, compiles 50 parenting principles that use heart-based strategies to teach you how to face daily challenges. When parents focus on the heart, kids learn to ask different questions about life. Instead of asking, "What's in it for me?" they learn to ask, "What's the right thing to do?" You'll soon see how a heart-based approach to parenting looks deeper and brings about greater, lasting change.

In The Christian Parenting Handbook, you'll learn how to:

• Identify heart lessons to teach your child
• Learn ways to correct, instruct, and set limits
• Transfer responsibility for change to your child
• Build internal motivation
• Teach your kids to be solvers instead of whiners
• Identify character qualities to address problems
• Use creativity to teach your kids spiritual truths
• Envision a positive future for your children
• And much more!

 

With these strategies, you'll be able to move from behavior modification to a heart-based approach to parenting. Instead of relying on rewards, incentives, threats, and punishment, you'll learn how to identify heart lessons to teach your child and implement them in practical ways.

The daily interaction you have with your children can impact them for the rest of their lives. With these 50 heart-based strategies, you'll develop your own biblical philosophy of parenting and gain perspective, greater motivation, and confidence that you're moving in the right direction!

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction: Developing Your Own Biblical Philosophy of Parenting
• 1. Consistency Is Overrated
• 2. Build Internal Motivation
• 3. Consequences Aren’t the Only Answer
• 4. Identify Character Qualities to Address Problems
• 5. Transfer Responsibility for Change to the Child
• 6. The Relational Side of Parenting
• 7. Envision a Positive Future
• 8. Look for Heart Moments
• 9. Make Parenting Shifts
• 10. Parenting Is an Investment—Think Long Term
• 11. Teamwork . . . Individuals at Their Best
• 12. Your Primary Responsibility
• 13. Bookmark Good Days
• 14. Don’t Minimize Your Parenting Power Because Your Partner Does It Differently
• 15. Teach Kids to Add Energy to Family Life
• 16. The Difference between Tasks, Problems, and Conflict
• 17. It Takes Two to Argue, but Only One to Stop
• 18. Move from the Issue to the Process
• 19. Affirm Approximately Right Behavior
• 20. It’s Not Good Enough to Be Right—You Also Want to Be Wise
• 21. Use Firmness to Focus on Character
• 22. Children Can Only Take as Much Pressure as the Relationship Will Allow
• 23. The Difference between Punishment and Discipline
• 24. Don’t Practice in the Grocery Store—That’s the Final Exam
• 25. Be Prepared for the Three Arenas of Resistance
• 26. Discipline Kids Separately for Sibling Conflict
• 27. Avoid the Boxing Ring
• 28. Teach Kids to Communicate Emotions Wisely
• 29. Stop Talking and Start Acting
• 30. Don’t Give in to Manipulation
• 31. Teach Kids the Wise Appeal
• 32. Use Correction to Challenge the Heart
• 33. To Spank or Not to Spank
• 34. Support Other Authorities Who Work with Your Kids
• 35. How to Pray for Your Kids
• 36. A Child’s Anger Problem Needs Attention
• 37. Teach Kids to Be Solvers Instead of Whiners
• 38. Children Need to Learn How to Work Hard
• 39. Fair Doesn’t Mean Equal
• 40. Correction Is Valuable
• 41. Use Creativity to Teach Your Kids Spiritual Truths
• 42. When Things Get Intense, Require a Break
• 43. Children Who Play the Blame Game Lose
• 44. Have Kids Report Back
• 45. Use Mealtimes to Build Relationships
• 46. Privilege and Responsibility Go Together
• 47. Firmness Doesn’t Require Harshness
• 48. Discipline for Bad Attitudes
• 49. Good Character Qualities Misused
• 50. The Value of Grandparents
• Conclusion
• Index
• About the Authors