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Instructing a Child’s Heart

By September 1, 2008July 19th, 2014No Comments

Shepherd Press (www.shepherdpress.com), 188 Pages, Paper, $13.95

Many Christian parents are familiar with Tedd Tripp’s valuable earlier book Shepherding a Child’s Heart. Now comes this sequel. Why did the authors see the need for this new work? Tedd says, “From interaction with their peers to the instruction and correction that they receive at home, children interpret their experience from a worldview that seeks to answer their fundamental questions: Who am I? What do I exist for? Where can I find joy? We need to provide our children with a consistent, persuasive, biblical framework for understanding the world God has made and their place in it.”

As chapter 1 points out, “In the absence of biblical formative instruction, secular formative instructors take over. Our hearts are easily captivated by the hollow and deceptive philosophies of a godless culture (Col. 2:8).” This book purposes to help parents instruct in such a way that the unbiblical influences of the world will not succeed. Part 1 presents the call to formative instruction. Part 2 introduces formative instruction more in detail, and zeroes in on how to communicate and how to give children a vision for the glory of God. And part 3 gives help on applying formative instruction, including the matter of corrective discipline, helping children prize the gospel, and getting them from mere behavior to the issues of their hearts. Behaviorism is evaluated Biblically and is shown to be severely wanting.

Every parent needs to study and apply the Biblical principles found in this book. It is difficult to convey in a book review just how worthwhile this book can be to families.

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