"Pass It On" by Jim Burns & Jeremy Lee

[reviewsbyerin]

Jim Burns and Jeremy Lee have a sincere desire to help parents find practical, intentional ways to promote faith and faithfulness in their children. As they say on page 139, "Parenting does not have to be about survival." With wisdom and experience that comes from raising their own children and shepherding other parents along the way, these authors share specific things you can do with your child for every year they are in school to point the way towards developing a personal faith of their own.

Using Biblical-based themes of ceremonies and symbols, Burns and Lee believe that kindergarten is a good age to get started on the various rites of passage which they lay out. "Your child may only be in kindergarten," they posit in Chapter 1, "but he was created to make a difference in the world around him." Beginning with lessons about generosity and responsibility, each year's themes grow to include topics like identity, friendship, and finances. Each chapter not only talks about the age-appropriate rite of passage, but also spells out what to expect from your child physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually at each grade level. The chapters are fairly brief and very easy to read, and they leave lots of room for you to incorporate their suggestions according to the unique needs of your child and family, as well as the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I liked the encouragement on page 66 to "...strive to parent in such a way that will cause the 35-year-old version of your child to say, 'Thank you.'" Other highlights included the focus on intentionally making memories as a family, and talking about how to help your child discover who they want to be rather than what they want to do when they grow up. Those are such good points!

I am not a parent, but I take seriously my role to influence young people as a sister, aunt, teacher, and friend. I feel like this book would be an excellent resource for parents, as it is full of good ideas and information. I know no parent desires for their children to fall away from the faith, but true relational parenting is not seen much these days. By exhorting parents to take full responsibility of passing on their faith to their children, Burns and Lee set the pattern for you to have a home where love and communication reign. Every childhood and adolescence is bound to have some turbulent times, but a solid foundation can go a long way toward surviving it with grace.




I received my copy of the book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for this honest review. All opinions are my own. If you would like to read what other people are saying about "Pass It On," click here.