Title: Answering Your Kids’ Toughest Questions
Authors: Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson
Publisher: Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0-7642-1187-4
“We strive to teach our children to know what it says and teach them all about the good news of the Rescuer who calls himself the truth (John 14:6), and then we rest and pray and wait for the good, ‘imperishable’ seed to take root and grow,” Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson write about the Bible in their book, Answering Your Kids’ Toughest Questions: Helping Them Understand Loss, Sin, Tragedies, and Other Hard Topics.
This one hundred and seventy-six page paperback targets parents of young children who are asking complex, hard-to-understand questions about life, loss, and the Bible. Using the English Standard Version of the Bible, the RSV is also referenced. This reader wishes all pronouns of God were capitalized for reverence.
Written mainly from Jessica’s perspective with her mother, Elyse’s input, the authors state up front it is not a conclusive, “know-all-the-answers” book to use to help children understand life; it is a discussion of many topics kids ponder and how best to approach the subjects based on their ages.
After an introduction, ten chapters examine different areas of hardships, tragedies, and Christian beliefs that preschool to preteens may question, ending with recommended resources for further studies, acknowledgements, notes, and authors’ biographies.
Each chapter begins with basic theological explanations including Bible verses and offers example discussions to start talking to young ones. There are specific age group divisions of preschool, five to ten year olds, and eleven and older so that the parent can best chose what works for the child’s maturity level.
Topics include what is sin, why people die, who is Satan, what is hell, why do couples get divorced, difficult Bible stories to comprehend, sexual sins, and natural disasters, ending with the Good News that Jesus is the complete answer.
Backing up beliefs regarding suicide, demons, adultery, doubt, homosexuality, sex abuse, pornography, violence, war, and terrorism using the Word of God, this is a solid focal point to understand how to answer children’s tough and sometimes heartbreaking questions.
Promoting that the parent should know his or her child’s personality and comprehension, the writers reiterate that this is not a line-by-line conversation; it is a spark that sets the parent’s mind at ease when confronting or explaining a situation.
Through praying and being in the Word, parents may find the additional reading sources for Bible study, doctrine, and chapter themes helpful as they encourage and mentor their loved ones.
Thanks to Bethany House for furnishing this complimentary book in exchange for a review based on the reader’s honest opinions.
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GRAMMARLY was used to check for errors in this review.
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