Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture: Practical Help for Shaping Your Children’s Hearts, Minds, and Souls
July 22nd, 2010
Product Description
What is postmodernism? Is it good or bad? Does it have anything to do with being an effective, godly parent? With sensitivity, grace, and a passion to help families experience authentic, life–changing relationships with God, Mary DeMuth describes the new way people are processing truth. She reveals effective ways for parents to communicate with today’s kids: by developing relationships, by learning along with their kids, by creating a safe haven for kids to… More >>
DeMuth’s book is a refreshing look at the parenting book. Her insight into raising children in this day’s culture is a must for anybody who wants to face parenting head on instead of simply sheltering children from what they will eventually encounter anyway.
Rating: 5 / 5
Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (1/08)
Raising a child, or children, in the 21st century is not going to be an easy task. What an awesome responsibility parents have! Just as the generations before us, those of us who have been blessed with children have the opportunity and challenge to “train a child in the way they should go.” Our main goals are the same as they have been in the previous generations. We need to love our children with a sacrificial love and be positive role models for our children to follow.
All homes are imperfect. You will never find or achieve the perfect home and life. Just as all people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, having a perfect home is not possible. We need to understand just what postmodernity is and how to deal with it. There is help for us parents in the 21st century. Mary DeMuth has written and published a book which will help you to understand our very important roles as parents in this world of constant change. Postmodernity affects Christianity and the church itself. With many stories of Biblical people and many other people and their life experiences added, Mary DeMuth brings out her ideas and accomplishes her goal in bringing out what she feels is most important in parenting in such a time as this.
When you were younger, you probably heard that “children should be seen and not heard.” Not anymore is that the way children should be raised. If we want children to someday be leaders and witness their faith to others, we as parents need to listen to our children and teach them how to share their ideas. Children will learn more from their parents by observing their modeling Christian behavior than by anything else.
Mary DeMuth uses easy-to-understand language. “Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture” is a valuable guidebook to help their children develop into the unique persons who God has created them to be. The consistent use of scripture verses adds to the spiritual walk through the pages of this book. This is an excellent book for Christian parents to learn more about themselves, what God commands, and their relationships. Parents will see how God will walk alongside them every step of the pathway to positive parenting.
Rating: 5 / 5
Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture by Mary DeMuth tackles the tough issue of how to parent in our changing world. How do we teach our children about truth and God in this pluralistic world? DeMuth gives lots of wonderful advice on how to bring our family back home where it belongs and support each other. She discusses different ways to worship and show your children not only to find God on their own but also to encourage others in their path. Postmodernism is such a difficult subject to define, but she handles it with grace and intelligence. She encourages parents to become more active in their children’s lives and to bring thought to how we interact with them, God, and the world. DeMuth and her husband moved their three children to France, and she shares their struggles to fit in an atheistic society. She shows their efforts, warts and all, to illustrate how we and our children can thrive in this new world. It’s a great, solid parenting resource.
Rating: 5 / 5
My title for this review could be a good alternate title for Mary DeMuth’s latest book. This book is not about teaching our kids to be postmoderns, it is about parenting in a way that is really “real” in an age where culture actively battles us. As Christians we are called to be a peculiar people, and we need to hold to our identity in Christ. However, this doesn’t mean we don’t use different tools in different times.
Mary’s writing style is very easy to read. She writes with lots of personal experience, stories on “how not to do it”, and feedback/insight from others. It doesn’t take long to read, but it takes more time to digest and put into practice what she is sharing.
This is not a book of simple “how to” with easy lists to follow. It speaks more into wider issues of the heart of the parent and the child, although there are practical points of application that are encouraged through the stories. She is not out to fix certain discipline problems or give us 7 steps to the perfect child. She brings us into a conversation on how to be Jesus to our children.
For anyone confused over the idea of “what is postmodern?”, she does lead in with an introduction of what that is and why it matters as a Christian parent. I would have liked a little more detail in this area, but that may be due to me being strongly interested in philosophy and worldview issues. This is not a criticism, as it is probably plenty for the average reader.
I haven’t worried about reading a lot of parenting books lately, but I am really glad I had the opportunity to read this book. It has affected my parenting (3 boys, thank you very much) already. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is the first of Mary’s books I’ve read, and I immediately fell in love with her transparency and engaging writing style. My daughters are six, five and one. With the older two heading off to public school in a couple weeks, I was looking for advice and encouragement about being “in the world but not of the world.”
The book really resonated with me–spoke straight to my mama heart. I want my girls to engage the culture around them while being uncompromising in their love and passion for Jesus Christ. This book “hit the spot.”
Thanks, Mary, for this great resource. I’ll refer to it again and again!
Rating: 5 / 5