Home Grown: Handbook for Christian Parenting

Karen DeBoer -

One of the most important stewardship relationships we have on earth is our children. Home Grown is an immensely practical, biblical, and easy-to-read handbook that gives readers real-world advice about how to help your kids know and love God with everything they are and have - and in the process build a home where you can grow in faith together.

Strengths & Features
Expert advice.  The author is a mother of four, an early childhood educator, and a curriculum editor who's been involved in children's ministry for more than 25 years. Her insights are combined with a panel of experts on everything from home life, faith, boundaries, teachable moments, changes, and more.

Tough Topics.  Home Grown is not afraid to tackle challenging "time-talent-treasure" stewardship issues parents face with their children head-on, such as:
• How do I make giving real and meaningful for my child?
• How do I teach my child to share what she has?
• How do I teach my child to share with people who are less fortunate without giving money indiscriminately to strangers?
• What do I say when my child asks why some people are rich and some people are poor?
• Should I make my child give his own money to church or charity?
• How much should my kids know about my finances?
• What kind of service projects are appropriate to do as a family?

God's Role.  DeBoer uses a captivating and biblical metaphor to describe Christian parenting: "God - the only perfect Parent - has planted the seeds of faith in your child. You get to nurture those seeds and watch their faith grow."

Intergenerational.  Home Grown demonstrates a concern for intergenerational formation - aimed not only at parents and their kids, but also grandparents and others engaged in the challenge of nurturing children in the Christian faith.

Further Study.  A power-packed book like Home Grown will prompt many readers to want to go deeper and unpack the content with others. Faith Alive delivers by providing two supplementary resources:
• A Home Grown Study Guide organized into 7 sessions.
• A Home Grown DVD to kick off your study sessions with real parents answering common parenting questions.

Easy Reference.  The author writes in the introduction that she hopes parents will use this book as a sort of "Dr. Spock-type" reference. Toward that end, there is a helpful topical index provided in the back of the book.

Focus on the Home.  Home Grown, as its name implies, emphasizes the importance of family in the spiritual, emotional, and physical development of kids. Other relationships and institutions are important, but "When it comes to faith nurture, studies repeatedly reveal that the primary place children learn about faith is in the home (after all, that's where their hearts are.)

Things to Be Aware Of
There is so much to agree with and celebrate about Home Grown. Some readers may object, however, to DeBoer's anti-spanking stance in one of the Questions and Answer sections.

Available at: Faith Alive Christian Resources