Thursday, February 12, 2009

Can a Strong-Willed Child Grow Up to Be a Responsible Adult?


That's the question that opens the book Journey of a Strong-Willed Child by Kendra Smiley, her son Aaron, and "resident dad" John.

I really enjoyed this book, having two strong-willed offspring of my own. The book takes an interesting track by having the adult child, as well as both parents, offer his point of view on growing up strong willed. The specific stories and the good sense of humor through out make this an enjoyable read as well as useful.

Personally, I was encouraged to focus on my children's unique strengths and to be consistent with them. And seeing the end result (Aaron's now a vet, a husband, and a dad--and practically my Indiana neighbor!) was one of the best parts of the whole book. It helps when you're in the parenting trenches to be reminded it's a process with an end result.

I recommend this book for anyone with a strong-willed child or who has to deal with one and would like some insight into their unique thought process.

Visit Kendra's website.
Check out what other bloggers are saying about the book.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review, Jennifer! Writing a book with your adult child is an adventure in itself as you can imagine. I'm so glad this book encouraged you on your journey. (And since you and Aaron are practically neighbors, you'll have to visit the Vet clinic with an animal or two. :)
Blessings! Kendra Smiley, the author of Journey of a Strong-Willed Child

Unknown said...

Thanks for stopping by! I've already recommended the book to another friend, and my mom read my blog post and recommended the book to one of the moms at her church. So it's definitely a needed resource.

And yes, we have a dog as big as a horse, so we might have to visit Aaron's clinic :)