# Practical book for child discipline/discipleship



## aleksanderpolo (Aug 26, 2007)

I would like to know if there are good practical book recommendation for child discipline/discipleship. It's for a friend who doesn't have much time to read, so I am looking for a more practical/how-to ones, especially on 3-5 years old kid. I have already got "training hearts teaching minds" for devotion. Thanks.


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## Dieter Schneider (Aug 27, 2007)

I would recommend James Dobson - notwithstanding some reservations. He certainly is very practical, and his focus on consistency seems to be a key-element in raising children. Many years ago my 'then-church' used his films that were shown to invited parents, may of whom were unconverted. For audio sermons I would warmly recommend Al Martin (scroll down) .


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## kvanlaan (Aug 28, 2007)

I would second the vote on Al Martin. I heard in one of his sermons that he himself had a child go astray (not sure if he ever returned) but he's very honest with it and a great preacher to get one fired up. We have read through some Dobson and find it very useful, but there are a lot of bones in that fish that need to be spit out.

One other source (and I've been pilloried for this suggestion before but will go ahead and do it again) is "To Train Up a Child" by Michael and Debi Pearl. This is a much loved/deeply hated book by a couple of back-woods Anabaptists from Tennessee but have a lot of wisdom in their pages. Now, they also go overboard on a number of things, but if you keep the Scriptures handy to help discern, the book can be a great help.


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## aleksanderpolo (Aug 28, 2007)

Thanks for the suggestion. So the books by Dobson and Pearl are flawed in what way? I am hoping to give the book to people who are not very deep in theology and therefore might not be able spit out the bones from the fish themselves, um... what should I do?


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## PastorFaulk (Aug 28, 2007)

You may look to this thread for some help. I will also recomend the same book here- though specifically not dealing with discipline, I think JM hits the nail on the head on the premise of raising children. 



PastorFaulk said:


> What the Bible Says About Parenting-- MacArthur.
> 
> I love this book because of its premise- The parent does not mess up the kid... the come messed up and its the parents job to fix them. It’s completely opposite to modern thought about kids. Kids are born fallen, not perfect.


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## kvanlaan (Aug 28, 2007)

First, I misread the original post - I thought you wanted books for discipleship and discipline. Sorry! 

So, my new advice on these sorts of things: read them yourself first. Your gift to a friend based on the suggestions of others would likely be seen as a wholesale condoning of the materials therein. Thus I would be careful in what I gave him.


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## Dieter Schneider (Aug 28, 2007)

aleksanderpolo said:


> I would like to know if there are good practical book recommendation for child disciple/discipleship. It's for a friend who doesn't have much time to read, so I am looking for a more practical/how-to ones, especially on 3-5 years old kid. I have already got "training hearts teaching minds" for devotion. Thanks.



I should have mentioned Lloyd-Jones on Eph.6 (in loc.).


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## aleksanderpolo (Aug 28, 2007)

> First, I misread the original post - I thought you wanted books for discipleship and discipline. Sorry



Actually it was my fault for the typo, I am indeed looking for books on discipline and discipleship. Glad that you misread.


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## kvanlaan (Aug 30, 2007)

Oh, well great then.

I would say that Michael Pearl goes a little overboard at times. His theology is also a sore point. His site is http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/.

You can find out why some people dislike the book so much here


> http://www.puritanboard.com/showthread.php?t=17439&highlight="Michael+Pearl"


. In hindsight, it is probably best left alone if you don't take the time to discern what is truly scriptural and what is not.

Hope this was of some help, if only to encourage you to keep looking until you find something more appropriate.


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