Living For Kids

It may shock you to learn that we spend an average of four to seven minutes outside each day—while we spend four to seven hours using devices with screens. Needless to say, our physical, mental, emotional, and relational health has suffered. But there is a ready solution: get outside!

Homeschool days can be long and hard. Even when we lose our vision, God does not lose His. While we attempt to teach and disciple our children, we find that it is ourselves needing the instruction and discipleship. We also find that God provides both, using our decision to homeschool to draw us closer to Himself. To continue with love and perseverance, we need confidence not in our work, but in God’s. These 30 readings will lift up your eyes and spirit so you can focus on what truly matters while doing the daily work of educating your kids.

Starting at a young age, kids are being fed damaging misinformation about sexuality, gender identity, and human biology. As a parent, it's up to you to help your children understand God's truth about these integral concepts in the face of the candy-coated lies that saturate today's world.

We've all heard the mind-boggling statistics about technology and social media use. The numbers don't lie; our obsession with smartphones and social media is slowly eroding the very essence of our homes and families. We see it. We feel it. We know it. So what do we do about it? Spoiler alert: Forget parental control apps, time limits, or reward charts. This revolutionary path takes us into the heart of the beast itself: the social media algorithm.

Parenting advice isn't hard to find. There are thousands of books on the subject, as well as a multitude of websites. Much has also been written on the science of child development. What's been lacking, however, are sources of reliable advice that bring together the scientific research and its real-world applications.

If your answer is "No", you're not alone. Many Christian parents feel the same. But here's the good news: Talking with Your Kids About Jesus will give you the confidence you need to have the conversations that matter most in today's skeptical world. In a friendly, parent-to-parent voice, Natasha Crain will walk you through essential topics on Jesus' identity, teachings, death, and resurrection. Each chapter clearly explains what skeptics are saying and provides a concise, easy-to-understand response you can discuss with your child (one that can be tailored for any age).

We want our kids to have the best education, but less-than-ideal school environments and concern about our kids' specific needs have parents uncertain about traditional schooling. A trusted homeschool expert with 25 years of experience homeschooling her own eight children, Durenda Wilson offers a better way and promises that you already have what it takes to give your child a healthy, successful future. In The Four-Hour School Day, she unpacks the lifelong advantages of home education, both for the health of your family and your child's future.

Parents love to imagine their children growing up to be exceptional adults. But for many, raising exceptional adults seems a daunting task. Wherever you are in your parenting journey, there's hope for you. As a mom of four boys, Monica Swanson—also the author of Boy Mom and host of the popular Boy Mom podcast—knows the challenges and struggles of parenting and the kind of help that parents in the trenches are looking for. In Raising Amazing, Monica gives you the tools and techniques you need for a fresh perspective on parenting that may just change the trajectory of your family forever.

For parents who are concerned that their child is pulling away, following poor role models, or making choices that will lead to pain and difficulty, Mike Berry has good news: It's not too late. He offers parents six keys to maximizing and leveraging their influence to help their children through these difficult years and develop a relationship with them that can weather any storm.

Anyone who has welcomed another person into their family is well-versed in the challenges associated with that labor of love. However, families of all types joyfully embrace the endeavor, whether they feel prepared or not. In Raising Parents, Jonathan Brozozog and his wife Joanne reveal that how people are trained to parent is equally as important as how parents train their children.

Happy Silverman is more than a little excited for his class trip to the museum. He loves learning about Ancient Egypt and can't wait to see real mummies. At the museum, Happy leans as close to the mummy display as he possibly can—and something strange happens. His head spins and he hears an unfamiliar voice ringing inside his mind. The mummy is inside Happy's brain and need his help—or else!

Most Christian parenting books are ready with exact practices every family should follow in order to raise obedient children. In this obedience-training model, faith is a wall, constructed brick by brick, as adults tell children what to believe and how to behave. But what if obedience is not the goal of Christian parenting? What if it’s our job as parents to instead help our kids get to know God and discover that God can be trusted? Woven can help children anchor to who God is and have faith practices that are rich, textured, and all their own.

What do you want most for your kids? A good job? A happy marriage? A long and healthy life? Perfect attendance at every holiday? A life without enemies? David and Esther and Job are not impressed. Some of God’s favorite characters offer us a different vision: make your children count. In this book, the goal for parents is not to keep them forever, but instead, to raise the kind of men and women who know what to do when Goliaths, tyrants, and hurricanes descend. What will your family legacy be?

All parents want their children to thrive, but what does that actually look like? And what does it take to get there? In The Whole and Healthy Family, Jodi Mockabee shares her parenting philosophy, one that encourages the equipping of each unique child to be able to function as a whole person so that they can enter adulthood as physically, spiritually, and mentally healthy individuals. Developed over years of research and personal practice, Jodi's whole-person and whole-family approach shows you how to create a wholesome home environment, prioritize spiritual growth, and more.

Christian parenting is hard work - and it's getting harder. Parents have a deep desire to pass on their faith, but fear that today's increasingly skeptical and hostile world will eventually lead their kids to reject the truth of Christianity. That leaves many parents feeling overwhelmed - uncertain of what they can do to help their children, given the difficulty and extent of the faith challenges they will face.

From the moment you discovered you were going to be a mom, you envisioned spending each day with your kids, guiding, teaching, and loving them. But diapers, wipes, shoes, and braces are expensive. Though it may feel impossible to manage on one income, author Erin Odom of The Humbled Homemakerblog is here to tell you that, through God's grace, staying at home with your kids isn't just doable; it's doable while living the good life. Erin shares 100 tips, tricks, and simple ways that she has provided the good life on a budget for her family, and you can do the same.

In A Dad After God's Own Heart, best-selling author Jim George shares the basics for how to be a good dad with your kids, including letting your kids know you love and care for them; learning the keys to positive and effective communication; knowing the qualities kids need most in a dad; ways to encourage your children in their spiritual growth; and how to build healthy relationships that will last for a lifetime. As you commit to learning how to become the dad your kids need, you'll not only draw closer to your children, but you'll find incredible blessings in fatherhood.

If discipling your children sounds like a daunting, shame-filled impossibility, you're not alone. As a children's pastor and father of four, Chris Ammen has experienced your frustration firsthand and understands that most parents feel inadequate for the task. But what if our inadequacy isn't a failure, but is just the place from which God chooses to work? In his debut book, Chris celebrates the freedom we have to disciple our children from a place of weakness and dependency on God while uncovering these key truths.

What is our purpose in parenting? Is it to keep our kids alive and healthy? To raise responsible adults who will be kind people, loving friends, and good citizens? Or maybe we'd just be happy if our kids would clean up their rooms and stop antagonizing each other. While all of these are honorable goals, when we focus entirely on fixing our kids' behavior we can miss the most important role a parent has: to show them the love and grace of Christ. Give Them Grace gives you the gospel foundation to parent from a place of joy, freedom, and peace.

In Raising Upright Kids in an Upside-Down World, acclaimed Catholic psychologist Dr. Ray Guarendi offers parents a roadmap through this difficult and sometimes frightening terrain. Raising Upright Kids in an Upside-Down World is a clarion call for strong, confident parenting in confusing times. More importantly, Dr. Ray gives you the resources to grow in that confidence: the knowledge of an expert, the insight of an experienced clinician, and the wisdom of decades of fatherhood. This is a book for parents who aim to form children who value the things of God, no matter the work and the effort.