Many times when trying to help our children grow we think primarily of meeting their physical, emotional and intellectual needs. In many cases we forget that we are also spiritual beings that need nourishment for spiritual growth. In order to focus on my children’s spiritual needs, several years ago I purchased a book from Focus on the Family titled the “Parent’s Guide To The Spiritual Growth of Children-Helping Your Child Develop a Personal Faith”. This book is a wonderful resource that I often go back to for practical ideas.
The authors state that the book is “Designed to help parents build a family of faith by equipping those with children 12 and under to make an active, intentional plan for directing their children’s spiritual growth.”
The book is broken down in to four main sections:
1.Part one gives an overview of the what, why and how of spiritual training and helps parents start a basic plan for spiritual growth.
2.Part two assists parents in designing a more detailed plan.
3.Parts three and four are reference sections
I especially like the fact that a portion of the book has sections divided by age group that offers practical topics such as “Learning to share” in the 0-4 age category-Wow this is a tough one for a two year old. Each age category has three sections-Knowing, Loving and Living. The Knowing section covers the ideas of who God is and what He has done. Loving explains how to have a personal relationship with God, and Living gives parents very practical tips in helping our children be all and do all that God wants.
The “Ideas and Methods” section offers ideas for activities to help reinforce biblical principles in a realistic way. In addition the reference section gives a plethora of information about other books, magazines and audiocassettes to further help us in this adventure of parenthood.
To purchase this book go to Focus on the Family. The cost is currently $17 for a paperback, and is well worth the investment. If that does not fit into your budget, try Half.com, where I saw the book listed for as low as $12.