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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
God Made Your Body, October 1, 2009
This review is from: God Made Your Body (Pure Foundations) (Hardcover)
"The Talk" Perhaps no two other words instill more fear and trembling in the mind of a parent than the thought of having "the talk" with their child. Many parents (myself included) often wonder when is the right age to begin discussing intimacy, sexuality and biology with your children. While there are many books written on the subject, few that I've read address it with such delicacy, simplicity, and beauty as Dr. Jim Burns does in his book series "Pure Foundations." In this series, Burns seeks to "lay the foundations for healthy sexuality" with "age-appropriate resources" in order to equip parents to teach their children that their bodies and sexuality are God-given gifts. I had the opportunity to read and review the first two books in the series. The first, "God Made Your Body" is aimed at children ages 3 to 5. With beautiful, yet simple photography, this first book helps children to recognize differences, not just between boys and girls, but between everybody in things such as eye color, skin color, hair texture, ability, etc. "God made boys and God made girls. God made all shapes and sizes. He created all colors and languages." In noting both the similarities and the differences between boys & girls, the book smoothly segues into the "special way" that God made our bodies different from the opposite sex. On one page, the almost nondescript outline of a 3-year old boy is shown, noting the penis and testicles. Similarly, the outline of a 3-year old girl is also shown noting the vagina and the womb. Although the concept of "making love" is briefly touched on, the book (appropriately) does not go into detail as to what this entails other than to say, "Making love is something that God made just for a husband and a wife to enjoy together. When a mommy and daddy make a baby, they each give one special part of themselves...." It then shows the progress of how a baby grows inside the mother's womb and how the baby comes out ("the baby travels through the birth canal, or vagina, which is between the mommy's legs.") There were several things I appreciated about the book, the first being the recognition that at this age a child doesn't need ALL the facts. Another thing was that when talking about how the baby grew, it gave size comparisons that a 3-year old would be familiar with - a Cheerio, an orange slice, etc. Perhaps most important was the clear impression that a baby, even at one month in the womb, is very much a person, complete with heartbeat. As the father of three children who were adopted, of especial interest to me was the inclusion that, while "most of the time, babies are born into their families...sometimes, babies are adopted into their families." I would highly recommend this first book of the Pure Foundations series to parents of younger children.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overly mature for the age group, November 11, 2009
This review is from: God Made Your Body (Pure Foundations) (Hardcover)
By Jim Burns 97807642117 "Laying the foundations for healthy sexuality: an age appropriate resource for ages 3 to 5" This is a new book from the Bethany House publishers. They sent it to me to review. This is the first book in the series; the second one is "How God Makes Babies." As a parent of a 4 and 7 year old, I know it will be part of my job to teach my children how to view their bodies in relation to God's will for their lives. I looked at this book to see if it would be a good resource to teach my children about their bodies. This is the first in the series and is specifically geared towards children ages 3 to 5, although especially with this type of book I recommend previewing the book on your own first to make sure it only has topics you think your child is ready for. Each child matures at a different rate and its important to stay slightly ahead of them in their understanding yet not give them information that is too mature. This book starts off by showing pictures of kids in all shapes and sizes. It talks about facial features and skin color and hair types all being different. Then it tells us that different kids like to do different things. Then we talk about what features God gave to both boys and girls (toes, etc.) Then we find out that little boys have a p**nis and tes**icles . We find out that little girls have a v**gina and a womb. Each of these pages has a cartoonish diagram of the body parts talked about. Then we find out that mommies and daddies come in all shapes and sizes. One thing I think is a little too mature for even my 7 year old yet is the idea of "making love". I don't believe young children are ready for any types of euphemisms. For example I refused to teach my kids a euphemism for boogers for a long time because I didn't want them to use any of the vocabulary. I don't think my kids need to be asking me about "making love." This book just says that the mommy and daddy "come together" and giving parts of themselves to make a baby (sperm and egg). Then it talks about babies growing in mommy's tummies and that most babies are born in hospitals. The way the author talks about these topics is, I think, very age-appropriate. Then we talk about different types of families, including adoption, grandmas and grandpas, and single parents. The idea of non-mainstream families (same-sex marriages, etc) is not specifically introduced. I loved the pictures and illustrations in this book, and without the phrase "making love" I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. You decide for yourself if your 3 to 5 year old is ready for this book. I personally prefer the book "Each One Specially" for this age group.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
God Made Your Body, October 9, 2009
This review is from: God Made Your Body (Pure Foundations) (Hardcover)
I recently read the book by Jim Burns titled God Made Your Body. I sat down and read it with my 4 year old daughter. I have read books similar to this one before so I was interested to see the approach that Mr. Burns would take. He starts out talking about the differences in people in regard to eye, hair, and skin color. Then he talks about the differences in height. He also mentions how children have different talents and likes. He then talks about how boys and girls are made different. He uses simple black line drawings to show the difference. They are very tasteful. The rest of the book is full of great color photos of real people. The pages are very glossy. He speaks about how the baby is made by a mother and father who are married. making love. I enjoyed how the book showed the growth of the baby in the womb by comparing it to everyday objects. That is great for kids to really understand the size and changes the baby goes through. I feel the book gives a basic description that is age appropriate. Just remember that all parents don't share this information with their children so your child should be reminded to talk about this with mom and dad if he wants to discuss it further. This is a good book to add to your home library for you to teach your children that God Made Your Body. -- NR
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