The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia

I had heard about this movie from one of the professional dyslexic blogs I follow, and today Amazon sent me an email about it, based upon other books I've purchased from them.

• Actors: Sir Richard Branson, Charles Schwab
• Directors: James Redford

Robert Redford's son,  Richard, has a child with dyslexia, (Robert Redford's grandson) which prompted the creation of this movie, produced by Richard Redford.

Product Overview: Since 1 in 5 people are dyslexic, The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia –a film that demystifies dyslexia -- is being hailed around the world as a "must see" for everyone. The film provides personal and uplifting accounts of the dyslexic experience from children, experts and iconic leaders, such as Sir Richard Branson and financier Charles Schwab. Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz, co-founders of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity share their insights gleaned from their decades long research into this perplexing disability.

Directed by James Redford, the film dispels the misconceptions about the condition. It also paints a picture of hope by proving that dyslexia is a neurological issue and not a character flaw. The Big Picture beautifully illustrates that while the condition is an obstacle, it also carries some unique advantages, and ultimately can be overcome.

Purchase for $18.51 here

Weekly Homeschool Wrap-Up 2/13

The thirteen year old will laugh at this picture some day. Thank goodness he still enjoys his siblings.

In many respects the last two weeks have been so difficult, but God's grace rained down on us more times than I could count. We do devotions in the morning without Daddy, and right after dinner with Daddy. Both sessions have been my saving grace regarding the extreme stress having special needs children brings. Cuddling on the couch with my children while praying with them and pouring my heart and impatient sins out, helps tremendously. Our rewards are greater love and regard for each other, calm spirits, and a better understanding of what it means to live for Jesus and through Him.

This week I ordered Sonlight Core H, which is the second half of the curriculum we're using this year. It's World History Part 2, which we'll switch to as soon as it arrives, while still reading Story of the World Middle Ages and finishing up Story of the World Ancient Times. The boys just aren't that enamored with the novels this year, and with Peter it's been a particularly difficult struggle because of his OCD, which was triggered by the false gods and fleshy Roman culture. Both boys have tender hearts and the topics have included adultery and other things which failed to uplift them. While they need to know about ancient history and all its trappings, I decided it can wait until high school when they're more mature. It wasn't that the books were trash at all, just that they were mature--more so than Core H.

Beth started her new immuno-suppressant drug on Tuesday, which went as well as can be expected with an IV needle involved. They did numb her first, but the fear caused tears and upset, nevertheless. She left with a new "stuffy"--a cute stuffed owl a kind nurse gave her, which put an immediate teary smile on her face. Wednesday morning she sported a large blister on her lower lip which gave her a fat-lip effect and made her scheduled dental cleaning impossible. I worried it was an allergic reaction, but there was no other sign of a reaction and the blister went away by bedtime. The others still had their cleanings and no cavities, thank goodness. Beth has had no apparent side effects so far, other than that blister, which happens sometimes with immuno-suppressant drugs.

The desktop PC I ordered arrived damaged (high fan noise and other suspicious noises, and it's sluggish), so I have to package it and send it back. I had to spend more precious time researching but I finally chose another for $150 more; hopefully, it's better quality. It should arrive Monday. 

My cell phone was old and wouldn't hold a charge and started dropping every call, so there I was, back on the Internet researching. Maddening, when I really just want to read a book, not reviews every night. At first it appeared that smartphones were the only free options and I panicked, but finally I found a free flip phone hiding amid the smartphones. The funny thing is, most of the reviews were from the elderly who don't care for a smartphone and like the large keys. So there you go--I live the speed of an eighty year old! 

Yes, I love me some large keys and why would I need the Internet everywhere I go? Yes, it seems like it could be used for extra safety and convenience, but Ma Ingalls never needed one and she had even more dangers lurking, like scarlet fever and wild animals. In the dentist office and elsewhere I want to be watching my beautiful children's faces, rather than an addictive device (which I would look at if it was there). Children are always an interesting, even enchanting study and I love watching them and hearing their funny comments and planting kisses on their soft cheeks. In the dentist office waiting room I read The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidle from our local library and we were in stitches. Such a funny rewrite. I would have missed giggling in the waiting room with my brood that if I'd had a smartphone--telling myself I deserved a little break.

For one minute I thought I should get the smartphone because our vans are both older and we drive in frigid temperatures, but then I thought of that busy dentist waiting room and remembered that all the other moms were on their smartphones,,,and several of the kids too. And I thought of Ma Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie and I resolved to resist technology on the go for as long as I can, because I'm not a business woman but a mother who deals in precious hearts, not products and profits.

My only regret is that I have no more babies to carry around on our errands! However, Beth is the quintessential Momma's girl and I still wake up every morning with her cuddled against me. She usually makes her way there in the middle of the night and when she finally stops visiting, I will cry buckets. I will look back with fondness at the closeness we shared, knowing she so often provided raining grace for my long, exhausting mothering hours. The years be so short and the days so long, indeed.

Trying to get number formation down, which has been a challenge for both girls due to reversals. Having the starting corner concept introduced by Handwriting Without Tears has helped, but it takes time. Beth is still in K so I don't necessarily need to be concerned unless she still reverses in second grade. Mary is in second grade and her reversals are due to dyslexia.

A princess and her prince: Beth is always creating something. She's been drawing up a storm, leaving pictures all over the house. She used to always use a drawing book for help, but now she copies pictures from the covers of books. Last night she copied Angelina Ballerina from the cover of a library book, and I loved the final product! Her mind thinks in pictures, which is one clue she may have dyslexia also. They think in pictures and are creative artists, often pursuing careers in the theater arts, in illustrating, in creative writing, etc. They have big-picture views of life (right-brained) and see things others don't see, whether it be solutions to problems or innovative possibilities for art and stories. Teaching these students is difficult, but if you understand them well you see God's glory in their uniqueness. God doesn't make mistakes! Little Beth delights me all the live long day!

Air-drying clay projects. They always seem to break soon, but I can't seem to make the time for the firing-type clay.

All About Reading Level 2 - working with the rule for the soft sound of /C/. C says s before e, i, and y.  She had to read each word and tickle it with a feather if it was a soft /c/, and hammer it with a paper hammer if it was a hard /c/.

Stuffed animals are a big deal around here. The girls, especially Beth, even carry them to doctor appointments. They recently started pretending that Paul is a vet, and all the stuffed animals in the house have to go to regular appointments for immunizations, colds and flu, and for eye glasses, teeth exams, arthritis checks, etc. I love how play teaches so much, such as organizational skills, interpersonal skills, etc. They had to make up the rules, the prices, the check-off sheets, the doctor's schedule, etc. It took a lot of their play time and I had a smile in my heart each time they did it. Such a hoot!

All About Reading Level 1: Beth's level - rhyming words with short vowels. Both girls are doing great and like to read ahead in their books, and Mary now checks out her own library books and READS THEM! I am so proud of her and so pleased that she's cracked the reading code. I was concerned that she wouldn't be ready to read Sonlight Books by the third grade, but that worry has disappeared! I've experienced that once the fluency comes, they are off and running.

Semi-sweet baking chips are a nice incentive. 

They called me out to take a picture of the world's greatest snowball. :)

All About Reading Level 1--Bingo with chocolate chips!

She dressed herself. 'Nuff said.

All About Reading 2
R-controlled words with /or/. Read them to "harvest" them.

All About Reading 2 -- Bossy r syllable (r-controlled words)

When she needs to concentrate to sound out a word, she goes into her "workshop" pose. 

Here is Owlie from the hospital. She makes clothes for all her stuffies.

My kids neglect all the Scholastic paperbacks I bought years ago when I was a classroom teacher. I put them out this week so that Beth could use the covers to draw pictures, and so that Mary would pick them up and read them. I usually just keep the library books here, but I changed it up a bit this week. Yes, teaching takes over the house in many respects.

Mary and Peter both love non-fiction reading about animals and gardening. Peter used to love fiction too, but that has changed since his concussion last August--a reality that grieves me more than I can say. He has a harder time concentrating and just can't read as much, unless it's about animals. He used to be two or three Sonlight books ahead of schedule. Not so anymore.

So that's our last two weeks...hard but incredibly rewarding. I am so grateful. I think the two words that best describe these mothering years? Grateful and exhausted, equally. Not a physical exhaustion, although there is that too, but I mostly refer to an emotional exhaustion. Prayer and the Word help me renew my vigor and dump all my worries, and give thanks for the incredible privilege of being a mom...the best job in the world!

How was your week, friends? Hopefully you had nothing to research and lots of blessings! Happy Valentine's Day, too.

At Least I Didn't Throw the Computer

My week required a lot of patience due to medical concerns and technology nightmares, and in a testimony of the Holy Spirit's work in my life, I actually had that patience 70% of the time. We won't talk about the 30% in which I ranted about how much I hated computers and always would. They're for people who have time in their day to tinker and learn by trial and error.

Our PC, only three years old, developed serious symptoms a couple weeks ago, and after working with its internal repair options for a week (start-up repair, system restore), I gave up and took it to a PC shop. The boot disk was bad among other things; sometimes it would start up and sometimes not. When it does, it's incredibly slow (like five minutes to respond to anything). The boys couldn't do their Teaching Textbooks math DVD on it, and math must go on.

After keeping it two days longer than the shop indicated, they dropped the dreaded hard drive bomb.

"The hard drive is bad and it will cost $200 to fix it."

 I told them no, we don't want to spend $200 to fix a $400 PC.

God is good. He knows no one makes anything to last anymore. Not microwaves (knobs or doors malfunction), not washers and dryers, and not computers. It's always something and thank goodness this happened just as a child tax credit showed up in our account, to our relief. It must have been the grace of God. Thankfully, I was able to save my district homeschooling notification documents, which would be a headache to recreate. Our pictures are all saved on camera memory cards, and will now be backed up with Cloud as well.

On Wednesday we bought a backup Internet source in the form of a Kindle Fire for at least checking email and weather and news when our PC is down. The kids thought they would finally have some TV with a Kindle Fire and Amazon Prime, and to my relief, it isn't as useful for that as they thought. There seems to be plenty of PBS, though, which is all I can trust. The problem is, I can't have them go through the choices because almost all the features for adults look evil and scary and appear on the same screen. I stayed up late one night trying to give them each their own account with appropriate books and options, but all that did was promptly fill up all our space, after which I had to restore factory defaults. I'm still getting used to the Cloud storage verses what's on the device. The Holy Bible took up too much space so we have to download that from Cloud when necessary.

Peter and Paul say many kids at church bring their devices for Bible access, as opposed to just bringing a Bible. Peter asked me if he could bring the Kindle to church. I told him that, no, he was not going to try to be cool. Using technology on an as-needed basis so as not to draw attention to yourself is the right stance, I taught them. If you forget your Bible, then technology is fine as a fill-in. Use it when it makes sense, I continued, such as when you want the ability to look up difficult words without hauling out a dictionary. When I read that Kindles do that by one touch, I was impressed enough to make a final decision, despite all the mixed reviews. It's not likely to save us money on homeschooling books, since I buy them used anyway, but we'll see what library options are available to extend our free options. Our local library doesn't have much of what we need for homeschooling, and it looks like you can only use your own local library to borrow Kindle books through Amazon. (Is that not true?)

I can't use the Kindle for blogging because I'm really partial to a regular keyboard (I don't even text on my cell phone!). Hopefully, this PC will do one last blog post for me before it completely dies. Another PC arrives on Tuesday, which I chose after reading positive reviews, and also expert comments indicating that PC's should go down to the $200 range some time this year. Why pay a lot, I told myself, if the hard drives aren't lasting? An HP desktop PC for $350 seemed like a good choice since we don't edit video or photos and we aren't into gaming. It happened to have Windows 7 while still being brand new, allowing me once again to avoid Windows 8 before Windows 10 comes out.

I do want the kids to learn to edit photos--something I never learned, but there will be time for that sort of tinkering someday. I continually remind myself that my job is to love and disciple them in the Lord, not get them versed in every kind of technology. On their own time in the future they will learn all that stuff fast. My hours and days and years with them are meant to focus on eternal things, not the temporal.

I've read more chapters of Grace Based Parenting by Tim Keller and will continue to share that when the new PC arrives.

This week we have Beth's biologic drug infusion appointment on Tuesday and 4 dental cleanings on Wednesday, so it's another school week interrupted. We pack up our curriculum and try to concentrate the best we can in waiting rooms and hospital rooms.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Beth's Rheumatology Appt. & prayer request

We went to Beth's rheumatology appointment today and they confirmed her arthritis is out of control, with her right wrist affected now as well (both knees, left ankle, right wrist). The right wrist has a small nodule on it, which happens with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

So, they have to put her on another drug to protect her joints from serious damage. The methotrexate (low-dose of a chemo drug to suppress immune system) doesn't seem to be working anymore, which she's been on for over 2 years. Nevertheless, she still has to take that as well as naproxen twice a day, along with the new drug.

I have been researching the several choices for her new added drug, which will come from a class of RA drugs called biologics. They are made from biological material and have an effect on the factor in our systems that leads to inflammation. They are immuno-suppressants, like the methotrexate. People can die from infections when they are on them, but this doesn't often happen, and would depend on prompt care, too. They can also get very serious but not life threatening infections. There is a black box warning for an increased risk of cancers, especially lymphoma.

One choice I have, used since 1999, carries the cancer risk, as well as risk of MS, which an aunt and cousin of mine are afflicted with--the aunt having already passed away, but her daughter has a very aggressive case of it. 

Or, I could choose one of the newer biologics used since 2008, with so far a lesser risk for cancer, but fewer years of study, so in that case I would be dealing with a greater unknown. Also, because RA is an autoimmune disease, sufferers have a higher risk for cancer anyway. 

In the past, before the biologic drugs were available, many children ended up in wheel chairs because their RA was so poorly controlled. The long-term prognosis is much better for these kids all around, but boy, these are hard decisions.

I haven't made a decision yet about which drug, but she has her first appointment next week, and I need to decide, or cancel and wait longer to decide (they didn't actually give me that choice, but I will take it if necessary). Please pray for wisdom and peace? Beth will go once a month to the children's hospital to be injected with the new med, via IV (after going every two weeks for the first two doses). There is an infusion center there for kids who need chemo drugs, etc. They treat the kids specially by giving them snacks, movies, games, etc. while they wait for their IV bottle to empty (about 90 minutes for the newer choice, and 5 hours for the older choice--the one used since 1999). For a couple days after each infusion she might feel tired, and there are other flu-like symptoms she might notice for a couple days.

My husband hates all things medical and doesn't like to be involved in these decisions. It makes him angry to have to think about the ways Beth is affected by her disease. I think the anger response is not unusual in some men.

I have to be careful to preserve her fertility the best I can with the knowledge out there, and with newer drugs that is harder to do, but her doctor said there have been no fertility impairments known so far with the drug used since 1999, which carries the cancer and MS risk.

Your prayers would be much appreciated. I know God has a plan for Beth's life, and whatever decision I make he will work with, but this still feels heavy. Pray for the best choice? Thank you!

Grace-Based Parenting

The book I ordered, Grace Based Parenting by Dr.Tim Kimmel, arrived this week. This weekend I dove in and I'd like to share some thoughts and many quotes with you.

Dr. Tim Kimmel, a prolific author, runs the non-profit organization, Family Matters. I gathered from the Amazon reviews that at times the 2005-published book sounds very judgmental (especially in the first two chapters), as though no one but Tim and his wife get the whole parenting thing correct (unintended tone I'm sure). I told myself going in that I would overlook any possibly offensive tone, and get through the book for what I can glean about grace-ful parenting.

Now forty pages in, I know I don't agree with all his views, so I'll comment on that before outlining his first chapter. I don't seek to be controversial in what I'm about to discuss, only to give another side--a side I know intimately.

Regarding some parenting choices, he's simply coming from a different vantage point then veteran homeschoolers. Tim emphatically believes that Christian kids should not be sheltered from the world, and in that sense he is anti-homeschooling. It isn't that he thinks homeschooling is wrong per se, only that if parents choose it for the sake of sheltering their kids, then it's a mistake. The goal, he would say, is turning out children who are strong (in the Lord, in themselves), not fearful.

He states in articles and question-and-answer sessions that every schooling choice comes with advantages and disadvantages, but I sense (and others have too) that he feels homeschooling is generally chosen by the fearful ones. While some parents might start homeschooling with fear as a motivator, I don't think that feeling remains paramount after the process has produced positive changes within the family system and family relationships. Most people persevere in their homeschool more because of the blessings involved, not because of fearing the alternatives.

He's written about and thought extensively about how to raise children who are strong in the Lord--and he's father and grandfather to solid Christians. I'm sure he's a wealth of knowledge on the subject (which is why I'm reading his book) but about homeschooling he's missing intimate knowledge and perspective.

My vantage point is that a solid Christian home environment with lots of face time and spiritual discussion between adults and kids, makes them strong, and the testing of that strength (putting them in the world) ideally should come in time-spaced increments based on demonstrated spiritual maturity, rather than in six- to seven-hour segments five days a week, starting at age 3 (preschool) or 5 (kindergarten).

The biblical commitment to teach and strengthen children in the Lord is far more challenging when you have to spend time deprogramming them from the 30+ weekly hours spent apart from you. Children are not generally forthcoming with information about their day--until they're desperate for help. Worldly ideas and thought processes can creep in, leaving you unaware.

Notice I say the above is far more challenging, not impossible. Many public- or private-schooling families balance it all very well.

Tim would say you can't train children in the Lord well without exposing them to the world (as if homeschooling families never run errands, go to parks, libraries, doctor's appointments, entertainment outlets, use other teachers, see other kids, take field trips, use media, etc.). Public schooling is not the only way to expose children to the world, nor is it the most lucrative.

Homeschooling doesn't necessarily shelter children. Rather, it exposes them selectively, with a parent in tow to witness and immediately comment on the exposures--a parent who will take mental notes and present a Bible truth related to the exposure, if needed.

In his comments he adds that homeschooling also isn't a good choice if it "holds the whole family hostage". I can't imagine what he means by that, unless he refers to financial hardship due to single-income status, or perhaps a chronic medical condition in Mom or Dad that would preclude homeschooling. 

I might add that what is unacceptable financial hardship for one family might be a blessing in spiritual growth to another.

Yes, homeschooling involves hardships, but Tim's not acquainted with its blessings. I don't know that I can adequately describe for anyone the blessings inherent in homeschooling. The togetherness is just so rich, like it must have been for Jesus and his disciples as they ate, drank, traveled, and spoke of deep spiritual truths day in and day out--especially the case for Peter, James and John, who were closest to Jesus.

I realize that since I'm not acquainted with the blessings of public or private school, my vantage point is as narrow as Tim's. My son Peter was in preschool for a year, and then public kindergarten for about 6 weeks. That's the total of my experience parenting brick-and-mortar-educated kids (though I taught in this setting for a decade).

What I currently know about public schooling comes from articles and parenting comments. It seems that schools are dealing with an unprecedented bullying problem, indicating school adults have lost control of the bullies. As more kids come to school brokenhearted (resulting from a worldly society) more are going to have psycho-social reasons to bully their peers. All of our neighbor kids dislike school because it doesn't feel emotionally safe to them, due to bullying and other issues beyond their control.

As our culture has edged closer to the enemy than to God, many children aren't thriving in public school, but merely surviving. I think the decision to homeschool nowadays is less about immoral influences in the school culture, and more about whether kids feel a sense of well-being there (and whether their intellectual needs are being met).

Social, moral, spiritual, and intellectual growth come hard fought for everyone--but what price is too steep? Ideally, children should feel challenged by their everyday environment (asked to solve problems that are within their skill set) but not oppressed. My impression is that tenderhearted kids don't do as well in the current school environment (tenderhearted not being the same thing as fearful--fears can be overcome, but not personality traits).

Popularity contests, mimicking peers, and bullying are far less prevalent in colleges and in the workplace, so I would argue that these venues are better places to expose young people to the world sans-parents. The environment in elementary and secondary schools really doesn't mimic any other part of life, and when we look at world history, public schooling is a relatively new phenomena.

Public schooling became necessary and providential because parents were spending most of their time on daily subsistence activities--hunting, gathering, skinning and cooking animals, baking, gardening, laundry, storing food for winter, etc. Surviving was time-consuming and often required an older child's help.

Nowadays, with a myriad of convenience options available to us, we have time to educate our own children, if desired. It requires a scaled-down, simplistic style of living, but it's a viable option compared to past history.

But is it oppressive to some children?

Whether a child feels oppressed in a homeschooled environment depends on whether they're being taught by a loving, conscientious parent without a personal agenda (without an agenda opposed to the Lord's), and whether they have siblings or other exposures to playmates, and whether they're able to practice their God-given talents and bents (in other words, be who they were meant to be without repercussion).

Public- and private-school environments vary across the country and even in the same cities--the key is to be aware of the environment and how it affects your individual child. Is your child merely challenged, or oppressed? Talk, talk, talk about it all with your child. Become an expert in drawing your child out, and visit the school as often as you can because kids will define themselves--their abilities, gifts, worth--by their peers if we let them. A lot of discipling and discussion need to occur to ensure they're defining themselves by the Word and by the unique bent God gave them.

A sure sign they're using the wrong parameters to define themselves? I'd say it's when they suddenly want what everyone else has, or what everyone else experiences (and the same is true for adults).

Now that I've (rather extensively) given a soapbox commented on Tim's vantage point and included my own, here's an introduction to the first chapter of his book Grace Based Parenting:

Typical parenting methods Tim Kimmel sees in the Christian community:

1. Fear-Based Parenting

Tim Kimmel says (his words in italics):

"We're scared of Hollywood, the Internet, the public school system, Halloween, the gay community, drugs, alcohol, rock 'n' roll, rap, partying neighbors, unbelieving softball teams, liberals, and Santa Claus. Our fears determine our strategy for parenting....When I look at how the standard evangelical family has formatted their strategy for parenting, most often I see fear behind the steering wheel...Fear-based parenting is the surest way to create intimidated kids. It's also the surest way to raise Christian kids who either don't have any passion for lost people, are indifferent to the things of God, or out-and-out rebel against their parents, their church, and the Lord." 

2.  Evangelical Behavior-Modification Parenting

"This is an offshoot of fear-based parenting that assumes the proper environment, the proper information, the proper education, and the absence of negative influences will increase the chances of a child's turning out well. This parenting plan works from two flawed assumptions: (1) that the battle is primarily outside the child (it's not); and (2) that the spiritual life can be transferred onto a child's heart much like information place on a computer hard drive (it can't). There is very little below the surface that draws on the faith needed to sustain the harsh "hits" from culture or to go into a deep, mature relationship with God. These are homes where God moves in the head but seldom gets to move in the heart."

3. Image-Control Parenting 

"A checklist method of parenting that is part of the seduction of legalism. Image-control parenting assumes that people will know you are a good Christian parent raising nice Christian offspring by your church attendance, the way you dress (or don't dress), the way you cut your hair (or don't), the words and expressions you use (or don't use), the schools you attend (or don't attend), the movies you see (or don't see), the amount of Scripture you can quote, the version of the Bible you read, and the kinds of treats you give out for Halloween (if you participate at all)."

4. High-Control Parenting

"There is a vast difference between parents who keep their children under control and parents who control them. High-control parenting happens when we leverage the strength of our personality or our position against our children's weaknesses to get them to meet our selfish agenda."

5.  Herd-Mentality Parenting

"These are parents who follow the crowd. If the crowd is overscheduling their kids with sports, extracurricular activities, and every event the church has to offer, they do, too. These parents aren't known for thinking as individuals. Instead they follow the fads in how they eat, dress, vacation, educate their kids, play, and worship. Rather than pray for guidance and study each of their children to determine what is best for that child, they look around and parent like everyone else is doing."

6. Duct-Tape Parenting

"Rather than figure out how to fix their parenting issues, these families cope by patching their problems. Temporary solutions are sought when crises arise. These families are running on empty--too busy, too many bills, and too focused on the immediate rather than the permanent."

7. Life-Support or 911 Parenting

"These homes are much like the duct-tape families but with the added feature that a particular crisis is dominating their focus. They may be consumed with a medical or economic crises. Or the crises may be the result of the deterioration or collapse of a marriage."

My comments: As I read his description of the different types of Christian parents, I thought: Don't we all fall into some of these, some of the time? What about the learning curve? He can't so easily characterize parenting styles, and he never qualified these at all, but merely presents them as though every parent is either one or another. The fact is, we get better in our parenting as we mature and endure hard knocks, and become more in tune to the Holy Spirit's leading.

The nature of the Christian walk is that the Lord is always drawing us closer--closer to the Bible, closer to the Lord's agenda. As Christians we're rarely stagnant, unless we've given up our First Love.

At the close of chapter one, Tim lays out three driving needs that every child has:

1. A need for security
2. A need for significance
3. A need for strength

Through the book he teaches that "the way to meet these needs is by giving your children three valuable gifts: Love, Purpose, and Hope. If we've done our jobs adequately, our children should leave our homes with a love that is secure, a purpose that is significant, and a hope that is strong."

Stay tuned for more from Dr. Tim Kimmel on grace-based parenting...

What are your thoughts as you read his work here?