Motivate Your Child (Review)

Do you have a child that needs to be constantly reminded to finish daily chores? Or one that doesn’t care about schoolwork? Or one that is obedient, but doesn’t take initiative to do tasks without being asked?

Motivating my child to be obedient, cooperative, and responsible has long been a struggle for me, so when I heard that Motivate Your Child: A Christian Parent’s Guide to Raising Kids Who Do What They Need to Do Without Being Told was soon to be released, I knew I had to read it! The focus of Motivate Your Child is reaching the heart of your child. The authors, Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN, emphasize that real change comes from the heart. Although we parents may be able to force outward changes through behavior modification techniques or threats of punishment, those changes won’t be lasting if they don’t actually  come from the heart.

Motivate Your Child is packed with great advice and practical ideas for guiding your child into maturity. One idea that was new to me was that the “internally motivated” child will not be motivated by external controls, such as rewards, punishment, parents or peers. That’s great for the child who has a strong conscience. Strong-willed children are also internally motivated; that’s why they are difficult to influence. This book gives many ideas for reaching the heart of the strong-willed, internally motivated child. When these children have a heart change, their internal motivation will be a strong guiding force for good.

The first part of the book deals with the moral development of children, teaching them to:

• do what’s right
• deal with wrongs
• be honest
• care about others

The second part of the book focuses on the spiritual development of children. Because the Holy Spirit guides the conscience, spiritual development is an integral part of learning to be self-motivated to be responsible, caring, and honest. Again, this section of the book is full of practical ideas for children and teens of any age.

I underlined many passages as I read through this book and know I will refer back to it frequently. I appreciated that reaching teens was addressed as often as teaching young children, helping the reader realize that it is never too late to reach a child.

If you buy the book THIS WEEK, you will receive $150 worth of bonus audio, video, and study guide materials. Just email the receipt to gift@biblicalparenting.org to receive the link and a special code to access these downloadable products. This offer is good until January 31, 2015.