"No Longer Little" book review

Jenny/ July 23, 2018/ Homeschool Reviews

 

 
I have a son who will turn 8 in December so I was really excited to get to review a book by Great Waters Press called “No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope”.  This book is specifically geared towards parents of boys and girls ages 8-14 so it was perfect for me!  They also have another book just out called Love, Honor, and Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Toward Sexuality that is for boys ages 12-20’s that sounded really beneficial!

 

First off, I first became acquainted with Great Waters Press when I ordered Christmas gifts for my boys from them last winter.  I ordered the first set of the Sugar Creek Gang books on audiobook and my boys love them!  I was very pleased with them then and they did not disappoint me with this book!

 

Hal and Melanie Young have 8 children (6 are boys!) and I feel are pretty doggone equipped to give parenting advice!  They are most definitely not perfect and never portray themselves to be or to have it all figured out.  I really appreciate that in a parenting book because I’m pretty sure none of us have it all figured out 😉

 

They address so many important things in this book that honestly I hadn’t even thought of.  It explains your children’s emotional upheaval they will be going through and the approximate ages it starts at, which quite honestly was way earlier than I expected!  That was a really good head’s up for me on what is coming…I might be scared, lol 🙂

 

Really, though they were very encouraging and emphasized getting your children’s hearts and staying calm in the midst of turmoil.  One thing that stuck out to me was when they said your children will try to take you on a wild ride but you must not get on the train.  You have to stay stable and sure so you can direct their very shaky boats.

 

They also talked about how at a certain age your child may seem to forget everything they know or suddenly become “lazy” or not hear you.  They gave very practical suggestions on how to deal with that and why it happens.  

 

They also address the physical changes you kiddoes will be going through.  We should definitely have sympathy on them.  This is a drastic change for them and can trigger embarrassment, self-consciousness and anger or resentment if they aren’t maturing at the same speed as their friends.

 

I loved their idea for having a “coming into manhood or womanhood” party for your children!  They have people they are close to speak (usually men to boys, women to girls) to the young man or lady and give them Godly advice on how to live their life and then give a special gift and have a big party.  Their goal is to raise men, not 30 year old adolescents!  (That’s my goal too!)

 

So, if you have children who are in this age group or nearing this age and you’d like a little Godly advice (because our churches are sadly lacking in mentorship, it seems) on raising them I highly recommend you check this book out because there is so much helpful practical information in it!  I think you will be really glad you did and your kids will thank you (though maybe not for 10-15 years).

 

Don’t forget to check out the other great reviews below!