12 Tasks: Creating a Rite of Passage

by Jack Taylor, Shel Arensen

How can parents help their preteens or ‘tweens’ on their road to adulthood? Children need to know what it means to be an adult with strong character and values. 12 Tasks will guide you on how to create a rite of passage for your emerging adult. The book tells the story of where 12 Tasks began 30 years ago among some families in Kenya. It traces the history and importance of rites of passage in traditional culture. Then it offers a clear how-to for designing your own version of 12 Tasks for your child – including ways to assess your child, choosing the tasks, completing and then celebrating at the end. 12 Tasks is not an easy journey, but it will help deepen your relationship as a parent with your child and it will help you guide your son or daughter in their transition toward adulthood.This book was written by two fathers who are passionate about helping their children and grandchildren make a successful transition from being youth to being adults. 12 Tasks offers a personal and practical path for parents with the same passion to help their children on the journey to adulthood.

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2021

Reviews

[Blue Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read overall. I’m probably going to do this with my oldest son who turns 12 next year. Great idea for creating a memorable “rite of passage” for young kids entering teenage years to adulthood.

In summary, this book rightfully argues that in the non-stop chaos of the 21st Century we have “lost some of the essential markers toward adulthood,” hence we must be intentional in “helping our children and grandchildren make a successful transition from being youth to being adults.”

The method of the “12 Tasks” helps our children grow physically, mentally, spiritually, & socially, providing the “foundation for building skills and living memorials” that will last a lifetime while allowing children and parents to share in these experiences together.