(Disclosure: I received this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.)
I have three young men. All three of them are so uniquely different. I want to raise them all to be who God called them to be so reading this book, Raising an Original by Julie Lyles Carr is a great resource that has helped me in raising them. I learned that I can't parent them all the same, but I have to do different things to get through each of them separately to help them become who they are. Each of them have their own special talents and I want them to use them and be confident in being an original. The assessment really opened my eyes to how I parent these young men. This book is a must have for every parent.
About this book:
Most Christian parents are bombarded with all kinds of advice and plans and programs for how to be a great parent. in parenting eight kids over the last 25 years, Julie Lyles Carr and her husband experienced plenty of opportunity for learning, but it was when they began to understand it was about parenting each child according to their own unique needs and personality style that something wonderful happened.
In Raising an Original, Carr helps to redefine the primary purpose of Christian parenting, this raising of the next generation. God has given each of our children specific gifts, abilities and capacities for specific purposes and He can equip parents to discover and support those powerful personality traits if they know where to look and how to respond. So many kids raised in Christian homes launch into their adult lives without any sense of knowing who they are called to be or what their mission on earth is. What if parents, teachers or mentors could help them discover the wondrous, unique threads woven within them that will enable them to see their part in the fabric of God's universe?
Readers of Raising an Original will be equipped to help their children:
Understand their unique strengths and the challenges associated with them
Discover their God-given gifts and how to use them for His glory
Succeed regardless of their circumstances
Raising an Original will provide readers with tools for better communication with their children as well as tools for uniquely guiding and disciplining each unique child. With a helpful and detailed Personality Trait Assessment Tool included as a major part of the book, readers will understand themselves, their parenting style, and their child better. They will also discover ways to improve their children's communication within sibling groups and with parents themselves.
Readers will find freedom in discovering that God hasn't asked them to raise perfect children; He's asked them to uniquely raise purposed children.