About the Books

Although this series is
written through my perspective and experience as a parent, as well as a variety
of other resources, the concept relies heavily on three books in particular. I
really feel like the Lord lead me to these books because I didn’t go out
searching for any of them they just sort of fell in my lap. The thing that I
knew had to be a divine reading assignment was how even though the books aren’t
affiliated which each other, they do build on one another and support the same ideas by
focusing on character development more than behavior modification. Since I do plan on pulling from these three gems
throughout the next 27 days I thought I would do an official introduction to the three
parenting books that made a Teachable Parent out of me.

I found the book Love and
Logic Magic for Early Childhood when I was sitting in the parent lounge of my daughter’s school. The
Love and Logic parenting solutions were written almost 40 years ago, which says
to me this isn’t some new trend that will come and go like tae bo. I was drawn
to the fact that the practices from the book are older than I am. The four main
principles of Love and Logic are to first, build the child’s self concept by
allowing them to work through their own problems. Second is sharing the
control by giving choices. Third is to offer empathy before consequences, and lastly share the
thinking by asking questions. Fayer specifically says “Every time we ask questions instead of merely
rescuing the problem away from our kids, we give them tools that will last a lifetime”. 

There are a number of books and resources available through Love and Logic and they are all chock-full of time honored practical advice for parents.  

My husband ordered this book
for me after hearing one of Danny Silks podcasts and it is just a crinkled up
mess that has my handwriting and highlighting ALL OVER IT! I just wanted to
chew on every little nugget of information until I knew the flavors so well I was ready to
duplicate the recipe and make the dish on my own. Or at least that’s my goal. Loving
Our Kids On Purpose references the Love and Logic principles a lot. The main
difference is that it is presented in a way that shows how it lines up with
scripture. In the first chapter Silk will tell you “This book is a why-to book as well as a how-to book.” He goes on to say that
“without establishing the fundamental core values of a godly perspective in
your thinking, these skills and tools will simply be more ways to manipulate
your child. That’s not what I want to give to you. I want you to see the heart
from which things such as freedom, respect, love, and self-control flow.” I
can’t wait to share more about some of the truths I have taken away from this
book.

I stumbled upon Wild Things
when my friend Andrea (the one with 6 boys who I interviewed for my last 31 day series) was signed up to do an online book club with the M.O.B. society.
The book is all about BOYS and how we can better understand their hearts,
minds, strengths, and tendencies. The crazy thing that I am going to suggest is
that this book doesn’t have to be limited to just boys. It’s that good. There
are so many mind blowing truths that I guarantee you will find that it can relate to a
relationship with a daughter as well, and I’ll be talking about some of those later. Even though yes it is full of boy, boy,
and more boy stuff, it’s still helpful considering we all have some interaction
with boys (even if they are full grown men), and some of the book teaches about girl
chemistry just to show it in contrast to boys so that is helpful too. As you
can see I am very passionate about this book. I definitely had to purchase my
own copy after checking it out from the library. The book Wild Things shows Teachable Parenting in
action from yet another perspective.  

I did want to mention that
you don’t have to read these books to follow along for this 30 day series, but
obviously I recommend them for anyone interested in this method of family
relationships. I know they are not for everyone, but I have already read them
twice each and won’t be surprised if I need to have a refresher course
periodically through my child rearing years. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing a little
bit about that. See you then.