Two extremes in child training are prevalent in our day. The first is permissiveness. The modern idea was made popular by Dr. Spock, who taught that discipline hindered the child’s evolution. The other extreme is to spank the child for everything. As stated, these are both extremes and are not beneficial to children.
Michael and Debi Pearl’s present ministry, No Greater Joy, began with the book, To Train Up a Child in 1994. Today over 625,000 are in print, a best seller in anyone’s standard. The premise of the book is to teach parents how to train up their children rather than discipline them up.
Beyond theoretical platitudes, the book is filled with illustrations from real families, including their own, and laced with plenty of humor. The proof that it works in found in the fact that they successfully raised 5 children who have happy marriages and families of their own. They are now influencing their 14+ grandchildren with the same principles.
In the words of the Pearls themselves, one major goal of the books is, “no more raised voices, no contention, no bad attitudes, fewer spankings, a cheerful atmosphere in the home, and total obedience from your children.” If that sounds too good to be true, realize that many have successfully followed these foundational principles. In fact, No Greater Joy magazine developed from articles responding to questions from To Train Up a Child. These articles are compiled in No Great Joy books volumes one to three.
You might ask, Where did the Pearls find a secret in raising children? Their answer: “These truths are not new, deep insights from the professional world of research, but rather, the same principles the Amish use to train their stubborn mules, the same technique God uses to train His children. These principles are profoundly simple and extremely obvious. After examining them with us, you will say, ‘I knew that all along. Where have I been? It’s so obvious.’”
The emphasis of the book is found in the title, i.e. training. It contains principles to train a child before discipline is needed and to maintain an appropriate fellowship with our children, not a buddy nor a tyrant relationship.
Again, from the Pearls: “The stress will be gone and your obedient children will praise you and bring joy and peace into your home. Thousands have testified to the amazing results of these profoundly simple techniques.”
Some of the chapter titles include, Parental Anger, Selective Submission, Safety Training, Potty Training, Emotional Control, Self-Indulgence, Bullies, and The Rod. A bonus is that the book has recently been updated and expanded, yet is still very reasonable.
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A Review of to Train Up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl
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