Friday, August 12, 2011

Boundaries with Kids

Boundaries with Kids, Dr Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend

To date I have avoided the juggernaut that are the Boundaries books by Cloud and Townsend. However having realised it's a continuous bestseller and having read another book by them (Raising Great Kids: Parenting with Grace and Truth) some years ago - I thought it was time to give it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised. There is nothing particularly new in it and the concept of boundaries with children is definitely not one that is foreign to me as a parent. However, it was helpful in many ways.

The bulk of the book outlines 10 areas where children need to learn, these include: consequences, responsibility, respect, motivation, evaluation and honesty. All of these are couched in boundary language and it's all common sense stuff. If you were struggling to manage your children, either young or older, there would be lots in here that would be valuable. It also teaches parents how to manage themselves with their children - in essence, how to choose to be an in-control parent.

So, all in all, a helpful, sensible book from a Christian perspective. Another one to add to the growing collection!


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