Adventures in Parenting

(This is the continuation of the series on Discipling Our Children.)

You may think I’m crazy, but I read all my children’s textbooks and literature books.  It beats watching TV, and I am feeling a lot smarter!  I get to learn, once again, about Lewis and Clark, the figures of speech of Edgar Allen Poe, and components of the cell.

Reading my children’s textbooks is one of the best investments of time that I’ve made in discipling my children.

Apart from working my brain, there are several other benefits:

1. A springboard for conversation.

Have you ever asked your children, “What are you learning in school?” Have you ever received an enthusiastic response?? So try asking instead, after reading their science book, “Which part of the cell do you think is the most amazing?” Discuss with your 8th or 9th graders over dinner about the works of Steinbeck and Dickens that they are reading in school.

2. Supplement with Christian values.

Whether your children attend public or private school, it is not the school’s responsibility to integrate Christian values with academics, it’s the parent’s job. When they study the American Revolution, tell them about the Christian values found in the Declaration of Independence. Knowing what your children read allows you to counter any humanistic/secular theology that permeates their learning.

3. Walk in their world.

Kids often say parents don’t understand them. And they are right, we don’t know the daily challenges they face, how they are processing their development of growing up today’s world. Since school is a big part of their life – at least 6 hours out of their day – reading what they have to read for school gives us a glimpse into their world, and let’s them know we are walking alongside them.

Next post: Discipling our children: Engage their doubts