Ginger Plowman encourages and equips moms to reach past the outward behavior of their children and dive deeply into the issues of the heart. Giinge...
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Jan 20, 2008
Kristen
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This book really annoyed me and reminded me of all the things that did not reach my heart as a kid. For example, memorizing scriptures to correspond to my sins. I recited them, I smiled but it turned my heart against scripture. I still cannot read some of them without growling inside. The Bible is not a weapon, particularly when you hurl one verse at a kid and don't take the time to really study passage in context. There were several other big issues I had with it, basically, I did not find
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Jun 27, 2011
Annette
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Wow, what a convicting book! Plowman gets right at the "heart" of the issue, as it were: you cannot expect to discipline your children rightly when your own motivations are not right - or, frankly, when your own heart is not right with God. I can see this may be prompting me to start memorizing scripture again...
Because another huge point the author make is that correcting your children needs to be done with a very deliberate grounding in scripture. I admit, a part of me rebel More...
Because another huge point the author make is that correcting your children needs to be done with a very deliberate grounding in scripture. I admit, a part of me rebel More...
Jan 07, 2010
Ryan
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This book made some good points, but I thought it was weak overall.
One of my biggest problems with this book is with the writing. It was simplistic at times, and in at least one place I can't imagine how the writing made it past an editor's eye (an entire line—or more—missing from a paragraph in an appendix).
If the ideas were thorough and well-argued, the writing wouldn't bother me so much. When there were good points to be made, such as with the importance of reachin More...
One of my biggest problems with this book is with the writing. It was simplistic at times, and in at least one place I can't imagine how the writing made it past an editor's eye (an entire line—or more—missing from a paragraph in an appendix).
If the ideas were thorough and well-argued, the writing wouldn't bother me so much. When there were good points to be made, such as with the importance of reachin More...
Jan 25, 2011
Gregory
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Although this was written by a mom, and for moms, I found it really helpful. There's nothing like children (and studnets) to keep us humble and constantly returning to the basics. I've read lots of "the right books" on Biblical parenting, and yet Mrs. Plowman had lots of great practical situations, tips, and Biblical wisdom on the basics. I think this book needs to be complimented by others like Wilson's "Standing on the Promises," because she tends to overlook God's abund
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Feb 02, 2008
Emily
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Light hearted dealing with the serious issue of growing our kids hearts.
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Nov 15, 2010
Betsy
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This might be my favorite parenting book to date; it is a TERRIFIC accompaniment to Shepherding a Child's Heart--a book I found helpful, inspiring, and solidly biblical, but not very practical when dealing with young children. Plowman's book helps to flesh out what biblical parenting looks like with younger children. I realize that it's not as "easy" as books make it sound, but this book is written by a mom in the trenches, so the illustrations/vignettes felt much more "real"
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May 14, 2009
Becky
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I really enjoyed this book. It gave a lot of great tips and "how to's" on raising children and really understanding why we need to be disciplining our children. Since I have two big hearted girls, I think many of her suggestions are going to help me parent them better. I took away a lot of useful tools to apply to our everyday life. The book helped me look at what I am currently doing and how I can better communicate and teach my children. The author is quick to admit that no two
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Apr 13, 2009
Molly
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This was extremely helpful in gleaning practical tips based on the principles from Shepherding A Child's Heart. The author is concerned with reaching the hearts of children:
"When we focus on our children's outside behavior and neglect what is on the inside, we will cause our children to become manipulators. They will learn to please us by jumping through the hoop (by acting the way we tell them to act out of a fear of punishment) but they will not learn the righteousness of Christ. More...
"When we focus on our children's outside behavior and neglect what is on the inside, we will cause our children to become manipulators. They will learn to please us by jumping through the hoop (by acting the way we tell them to act out of a fear of punishment) but they will not learn the righteousness of Christ. More...
Apr 27, 2011
Rachel
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I'm not sure where this book came from. Anyone else get books from the library or order them off of amazon without realizing it? Anyway, I saw it sitting on my bookshelf one day and I was in a hurry to go somewhere that likely involved a lot of waiting so I grabbed it as a quick read seeing as it was short.
My was I in shock when I saw the author mentioning her admiration for Tedd Tripp. I nearly dropped the book and ran away ( I believe my uncertainty of him and his book, Sheparding a More...
My was I in shock when I saw the author mentioning her admiration for Tedd Tripp. I nearly dropped the book and ran away ( I believe my uncertainty of him and his book, Sheparding a More...
Dec 06, 2010
Kathryn
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A very quick read. Has quite a few practical suggestions that a lot of parenting books skim over.
A few of her main points: "There is far more to parenting than getting our children to act right. We have to get them to think right and to be motivated out of a love of virtue rather than a fear of punishment." She then spends the remainder of the book demonstrating HOW she goes about this.
"As a rule, anytime you correct your child for wrong behavior, have him walk t More...
A few of her main points: "There is far more to parenting than getting our children to act right. We have to get them to think right and to be motivated out of a love of virtue rather than a fear of punishment." She then spends the remainder of the book demonstrating HOW she goes about this.
"As a rule, anytime you correct your child for wrong behavior, have him walk t More...
May 26, 2011
Karla
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There were things that I was uncomfortable with in this book; however, here are a few of Plowman's points that I embrace. I appreciate her emphasizing the need to "train children in righteousness." I can remember as a child the confusion of getting in trouble for something, or feeling like I was a disappointment in some way, but not being instructed in what better options I had. Kids don't just figure out what the right thing is to do on their own. They need guidance, practical adjustm
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May 09, 2010
Elizabeth
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I really liked this book, mostly for all the real-life examples the author gives regarding how she handles specific situations that also frequently arise in our family (i.e., sibling arguing, whining, tattling, selfishness, disrespect, not listening, etc.). Reading the book felt as if I was receiving some practical advice from a good friend who was a little further along in her parenting journey. In fact, I have already tried out a few of her suggestions. I was especially impacted when she empha
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May 17, 2008
Stacey
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I found this book an honest and biblical approach to parenting. While I really like Tedd Tripp's "Shepherding a Child's Heart" I feel as though he is writing from the perspective of a man who has an incredible testimoney of having raised his children biblically. Ginger Plowman writes as one in the trench. She takes Tripp's biblical ideas and gives them practical application. Tripp says when 2 children are fighting over a toy, they are both struggling with a heart issue--selfishness. Tr
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Dec 01, 2008
Peter
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Ginger Plowman gives us a pretty anecdotal book about heart-oriented discipline of children. I thought her insights were rooted in Scripture and clearly presented.
One refrain that really struck me was, "I love you too much to allow you to disobey." This statement was repeated often in the book, and comes right out of Prov 13:24. It is so easy as a parent to allow my children to disobey, and to think that I'm loving them by doing that (I don't want to be too harsh, after More...
One refrain that really struck me was, "I love you too much to allow you to disobey." This statement was repeated often in the book, and comes right out of Prov 13:24. It is so easy as a parent to allow my children to disobey, and to think that I'm loving them by doing that (I don't want to be too harsh, after More...
Apr 07, 2010
Elizabeth
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A wonderful parenting book. If you liked Shepherding a Child's Heart, then you will LOVE this one. GP bases her thoughts on Shep and then gives practical examples and things to do. She also spends a lot of time talking about not just to tell your child what not to do but to tell them the good to put on as well. And she uses scripture in how to instruct in doing this.
Its a great reminder of why we do this thing called parenting and that the goal isn't little robots who obey but people More...
Its a great reminder of why we do this thing called parenting and that the goal isn't little robots who obey but people More...
Oct 08, 2010
L. R. Bouligny
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My wife asked me to read this, and I found some very helpful biblical principles employed in the author's training of her kids. It is about addressing the heart in discipline and instruction, and I found most of what she shared to be right on. It was also a stark reminder of how many parents today have abandoned God's ways for raising children, and this is evidenced in the 8 million kids in the US who are on Ritalin because they are of of control, instead of being properly disciplined from a you
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May 24, 2009
Lydia
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A lot of good principles and examples. I like the emphasis on teaching wisdom to replace the foolishness "bound up in the heart of a child". Not sure about constantly quoting verses to my child. I've got a lot to learn about parenting, though, so I'm going to experiment and see. Like most of the parenting books I've read, this one is geared more toward older children, but I can see some ways to apply the ideas even to my little 1 1/2 year old.
Sep 24, 2010
John
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I love this book. It's basically a much more practical (some might say overly practical!) book on dealing with discipline with your kids. A must read for every parent of toddlers (dads too! even though it's directed toward moms). Like Tripp, Plowman can edge toward law a bit, but overall, she is very solid. In our home, this book was basically our manual on discipline for the first few years of our kids' lives.
Jul 07, 2009
Christa
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The minister for Women's Ministries gave me this book last year and descibed it as the practical application of Sheperding a Child's Heart. So it has sat on my shelf for almost a year, until I did my great spring cleaning and purged our house of stuff. And I looked at the yet-another-parenting-book and wanted to chuck it in the give-away pile. But I told myself - you better just read before you pass it along. So I was refreshed to by this "easy-read" which gave some good examples of HO
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Jun 05, 2011
I've been "currently-reading" this book for about a year now. Just can't seem to get through it. It's a good Christian-based parenting advice book with many practical applications and examples. But, in this category, I enjoy Sally Clarkson's books so much more. Or maybe I'm just burned out on reading "how-to" Mom books. But, having said that, I know lots of people who love this book!
Apr 02, 2008
Renee
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After reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp many moons ago this was a great refresher on parenting to the heart of our children. How to draw out the foolishness (in the biblical definition) and replace it with biblical truth. Liked the emphasis on the word of God - knowing it, speaking it and living it in our homes. An easy read in terms of length but challenging. Challenging in that the author places responsibility, rightfully so, on the parents to know their children and see
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Mar 08, 2010
Mandi
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This is by far the best book on Biblical child training I have read thus far! Ginger Plowman has taken heart-oriented child discipleship and made clear the daily application. I have used this Biblical approach with tremendous results!
This is a book for after the infant through toddler years. For those years I highly recommend 'Child Training Tips' by Reb Bradley.
This is a book for after the infant through toddler years. For those years I highly recommend 'Child Training Tips' by Reb Bradley.
Apr 30, 2009
Jen
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Another good resource that reminds me to stay focused on scripture when correcting. I like Plowman's questions to her children to bring about understanding of the subject or disobedience and put the focus on obeying - like walking them through figuring out what they did wrong instead of always just telling/scolding them about it. It seems she has experience with the Growing Families materials, several techniques were similar (the interrupt rule, etc.)
Mar 27, 2011
Jeremy
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This is a book discusses very basic principles that seem like common sense as you read them, but are quite difficult to apply. It is a great reminder of the intentionality that is necessary to build Christlikeness in our children rather than simply compliance. I definitely recommend it for all parents n
Oct 05, 2011
Kristjan
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Some very good advice here, and hopefully we can put it to good use. Probably not useful for non-Christians, because often the reason given for why it should be done this way is "Because the Bible says so". Author states that her kids behave as poorly as other people's kids, so she is not writing this book on her own authority. Yet, she claims that this method works. I'm not quite sure how to reconcile these two.
Feb 16, 2011
Lana
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Excellent!
I tend to get bogged down in the if you do this, then you receive x punishment, or correction... This book helps to get at the heart of the issues, focusing your energy on correcting the heart attitude that is behind the particular issue.
I tend to get bogged down in the if you do this, then you receive x punishment, or correction... This book helps to get at the heart of the issues, focusing your energy on correcting the heart attitude that is behind the particular issue.
Mar 07, 2010
Karla
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I found this books focus on the application of biblical principles in discipline very useful. This book was easy to read and I finished it quickly. I appreciated Plowman's use of scripture to evidence her practical applications.
Oct 19, 2009
Christina
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This is a great companion book to "Shepherding a Child's Heart". I loved that it was more concise and even more practical. This book has helped me changed the language of discipline with my children into a more sin vs. God approach.
My only confusion with this book is I thought the section on "The Rod" seemed to advocate spanking for even minor and first time disobedience and defiance offenses. I like to administer a warning or a time out(showing grace in acti More...
My only confusion with this book is I thought the section on "The Rod" seemed to advocate spanking for even minor and first time disobedience and defiance offenses. I like to administer a warning or a time out(showing grace in acti More...
Apr 15, 2010
Nikki
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This is a great companion book to Ted Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart, with more practical advice and circumstantial advice that I have found very helpful. I reference the ideas in this book very often and have seen such a positive difference in my training relationship with my kids.
