In a world where parenting advice shifts faster than fashion trends, this "how not to parent" resource takes a fresh look at how the seven deadly sins are the root of most modern parenting mistakes. Through humorous stories and practical biblical wisdom, Patrick M. Quinn and Ken Roach show how well-meaning parents can ruin their children's lives in seven easy steps (wrath, greed, envy, lust, sloth, gluttony, and pride). Quinn and Roach then offer a new counterapproach - laying a sevenfold foundation for lasting significance where parents can help rescue their children's hearts...and futures.
This is one of those books I picked up because the title was cute, but didn’t really expect much from it. I was pleasantly surprised, however, by this fresh take on a parenting book, as it appeared to have very little to do with “parenting” at all.
Quinn begins each chapter with a list of ways to “ruin” your child through the seven deadly sins and then proceeds to encourage the reader to personally do better in each of these areas. After all, kids will do as you do regardless of what you may say.
“Parenting,” Quinn writes, “is not about policies and procedures. It’s about becoming the kind of people we would like to reproduce.”
This was an easy read, but one packed with punch. I will be coming back again and again to read it and glean the depths of wisdom contained within. Aside from how simply it is organized and how practically the lessons are arranged for application, my favorite part was the constant reference to Scripture as the basis for parenting. Ultimately, I found this as much a challenge to my own life as a disciple of Jesus Christ as it was to the way that I seek to parent my children. Highly recommended.