My Favorite Parenting Book

Finally, I thought I would write another blog entry. I have so many ideas for writing floating the back of my head but alas, I am not the best at executing them. This one I have wanted to write about for a very long time. I am just not good at writing about why I like a book. But I will give it a shot.

I have read countless parenting books - probably 20, or more. Yes, really, that many! I will list some of the other ones I like at the end of this post. However, my all time favorite parenting book, the one I go back to more than any other to glean from its time-tested wisdom, spiritual motivation and general encouragement is...

The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot

As I may have mentioned before in a previous blog, there is a distinct reason why gave David the middle name Elliot. The life of Jim Elliot, the martyr missionary to the Auca Indians in Ecuador and his wife before his death, Elisabeth have had more influence on my spiritual life as a whole than any other even more than John Piper and David Platt!  I have read more of her books than any other author. Her words are encouraging, challenging, exhorting, frank and yet true, obedient and helpful. So, I was so excited to learn that she had written a book about Christian parenting! I found out about this book and read it probably in 2008, 2 years before I became a parent and have since given away numerous copies, loaned mine out often and had to by new ones for myself. The current copy I have has tons of underlining, stars and about 20 dog-eared pages.

So why do I like the book over all other parenting books? Well, this is an autobiography of Elisabeth's childhood as well as the childhood of her mother and father. I love learning from biographies and autobiographies. So I think she wrote the book as a means to show a model for others what a Christian family looks like. You see a mother and father who were devoted to Lord and lived it out and you see parents and children who were not perfect but whose home was one of peace, laughter, tenderness, encouragement and love, just what I want for my family. She covers all kinds of topics and gives examples of how those things were lived out in her family - everything from family devotions, mealtime behavior, common courtesies, discipline, the role of husband and wife, mother and father, work and play, the Sabbath, schedules and routines, good habits, the training of infants and young children, preparing for new babies, leisure/vacation time, etc, etc, etc at a time when there was no tv, her mother had no dishwasher or washing machine, no tupperware, squeezies (the greatest modern invention getting children to eat their vegetables!), etc. Furthermore, it is full of beautiful, quotable gems that Elisabeth Elliot is so good at writing. And, because it is all written in the context of her family (her and 5 siblings) it makes it so much easier to comprehend how to implement her ideas into my family. It is rich with spiritual encouragement and old-fashioned parenting wisdom that our country has all but forgotten.

I have read this book so many times I've lost count. I just picked it up again over the weekend after not reading it for a while. I just can't get enough of it! Read it for yourself and find out.

So here are some other good parenting books that I like too although they don't quite measure up to The Shaping of a Christian Family. Most are probably ones that you might not have heard of. I always like to go off the beaten path! :) The first three are recommended by Elisabeth Elliot in the back of her book.  That is how I came across those.

Hints on Child Training - Henry Clay Trumbull (Elisabeth's grandfather, first published 1891)

My First 300 Babies - Gladys West Hendrick

The Mother at Home - John S.C. Abbott (Free on the Kindle, first published 1833)

Shepherding a Child's Heart - Ted Tripp

For the Family's Sake - Susan Schaeffer Macauley (daughter of Francis Schaeffer)

The Mission of Motherhood - Sally Clarkson

Parenting By the Book - John Rosemond


All of the above are Christian in nature and subject however, I have two that I love that are secular and about the... French parenting methods! They are fun to read and revealing about our American culture of consumerism, instant gratification and over-indulgence.

French Kids Eat Everything - Karen Le Billon

French Twist: An American Mom's Experiment in Parisian Parenting - Catherine Crawford (this one is hilarious but is occasionally crass).

The next parenting book waiting in the quay is Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle quoted often by Elliot, and another oldie. :)