Also by this author: The Adventure of Christmas: 25 Simple Family Devotions for December
Published by Good Book Company on May 1, 2023
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life, Parenting
Goodreads
Help children find their identity in Christ so that they have a positive and realistic view of themselves. Useful for any stage of parenting.
As kids grow up, they hear many conflicting messages about how they can define themselves. For example, they are told that they can define themselves by their achievements, popularity, sexuality, morality, or gender, or by how they feel.
This warm, realistic, and sympathetic book, written by father of three and founder of Faith in Kids, Ed Drew, provides much needed biblical help for parents on this topic. It shows parents how to encourage their kids to find their identity in the fact that they are made and loved by Jesus, and it explores the implications and applications of this truth.
Whether they are happy or anxious, whether they have messed up or achieved great things, children will gain a positive and realistic view of themselves, based on God’s amazing love for them, giving them confidence to live by faith in a secular world.
The foundational principles in this book mean it is ideal to read in advance of or during the early stages of parenting, but it is a useful resource at any stage of a child’s life.
In this parenting book, Ed Drew shares insights from the Bible and from his personal experiences, highlighting ways that parents can help their kids thrive by instilling confidence in them and helping them ground their identity in Christ, rather than in fleeting measures of popularity or success. Drew writes in an engaging, down-to-earth style, and he does a great job of sharing honest, personal stories without sharing too many details about his kids, who are often anonymous in the stories.
Raising Confident Kids in a Confusing World can help families in different life situations, since the advice is suitably general and isn’t prescriptive. Drew emphasizes the importance of developing a grace-based family culture, and he writes about a variety of different issues, such as kids struggling with friendships, feeling socially isolated, and needing the influence of adults outside of their family. Instead of giving a list of things to do or a list of conversations to have, Drew helps parents think through ways that they can create positive family cultures and have pathways of communication with their kids as they get older. I particularly appreciated the chapter about how parents can help their children navigate suffering, since so many resources neglect this issue.
Drew also address some tough issues towards the end. He discusses the impact of body image struggles on both girls and boys, and there are also chapters on sexuality and gender. Those chapters are too short and simple to engage with all angles of the debate or different questions that arise, but they will help Christian parents think through how to approach these conversations in calm and assured ways, instead of being reactionary. The examples are mainly geared towards parents of younger children who are laying groundwork in early conversations, but some aspects can also be helpful to parents of teens.
Overall, Raising Confident Kids in a Confusing World is a helpful guide that will appeal to Christian parents who want encouragement and wisdom for building their children’s confidence and resilience in an anxiety-ridden, overwhelming world. It’s best for parents of younger kids, although the general principles apply throughout the lifespan, and people who are tired of parenting books with authoritative, fear-based messages will appreciate this book’s non-prescriptive approach.