Customer Reviews

What's the Big Deal?: Why God Cares about Sex (God's Design for Sex)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently purchased this book to go through with my 10 year old son. I have been so pleased with the dialoge provided in the book! It asks the questions kids really have and helps us parents give answers based on scripture! This book is a wonderful tool for using with your children as you talk frankly about sex and the consequences of going against what the bible teaches. I have already recommended this book to family members with children 8 to 11.

Even though my son is 10 years old now I have decided to go back and purchase the two previous books to this one to go through with him. They certainly couldn't hurt!!!!

There are two books prior to "What's the Big Deal" and we have used these wonderfully illustrated books with all three of our children. We followed the age suggestion and found that the subject matter was presented in a very natural and positive way. The main reason these books are such a blessing is that we need to tell our precious and innocent children the truth so that they are prepared mentally and emotionally when the "lies" inevitably come their way. Don't wait! Your child needs this healthy information.

If you're nervous about telling your child the "facts of life", this book will save you. It goes over all the stuff you might forget and like the book, I highly recommend reading it out loud with your child. Note: it has "parents" parts and "kids" parts broken down like a script/question-answer style; but it's not cheesie.

I think the information in this whole series of books is wonderful! However, I think the age ranges are a bit off. I don't think a 5-8 year old needs to know the details of sex. I just shared the 2nd book in the series with my 10 year old because she started talking about the word "sex", not knowing what it was. There are some topics in the 3rd book that I didn't feel she was ready for yet, so I will wait a few months. I will certainly give her all that information before she enters middle school. However, I want her to absorb the Godly intention for sex before she has to begin absorbing the ways in which the world has distorted it. That is truly my only suggestion - wait till the kids are a bit older than the book suggests.

This is book 3 of the God's Design for Sex series. I purchased the series when my daughters were 8 years old. My girls have been quite sheltered from TV and videos their entire life and attend a Christian school. We started at age 8 with Book 1 soon followed by book 2 and then left things there for quite a while. At 11 we read through all of Book 3. At 13, (now) they have read parts of book 4 and reviewed the table of contents. They are driving the discussions much more now and we're going on their timeline. That said, my 8 year old niece has hundreds of channels coming into her home, chats online through KOL (kids online), and has been exposed to MUCH more than my daughters. She was askingin depth questions and finished book 3 this summer with her mom. The age appropriateness all depends on the child and what they are ready for or need.

The God's Design for Sex series is medically accurate and current as of this writing. It presents a clear statement of the evangelical Biblical position on sex, puberty, STD's and other related social issues such as sexual abuse, prostitution and homosexuality. I recommend previewing the book to make sure that your child is ready for the content. Not all 8 year olds will have thought about or are ready to think about the questions that the children in this book are supposed to be asking (e.g. sex in movies, teenage pregnancy, other kids joking about sex, etc.). Also, if you are not a socially conservative evangelical, you may, as other reviewers have commented, find positions in this book (What's the Big Deal) that you do not agree with. In my opinion, however, the material presented is consistent with a literal interpretation of the Bible and is also stated in a non-judgmental way within that context. E.g., some of the quotes that other reviewers found objectionable as stated in their complete context:
"There are some Christian men and women who feel those feelings [like a homosexual] and choose to obey God by not having sex at all. This is how God wants all people who are not married to behave."
"Many people who have AIDS got the HIV germ because they did things that broke God's rule [about sex only within marriage] ... Unfortunately, some people get HIV even if they didn't do anything wrong."
"We must not hate [people who have HIV] or say that we are happy they are dying for the bad things they did. They did bad things, just as we do bad things. We should love them the way God loves us even though we do bad things."

If read alone, the book could probably benefit from more or larger illustrations; however, if read as part of the series, the first two books are so beautifully illustrated that children should already have a fairly clear picture of the basic body shapes before beginning this book. The drawings are modest but accurate.

I highly recommend this book for all parents who would like a springboard to discussing Biblical perspectives on sex and societal issues with their preteen.

My husband and I read the book all the way through first, and we've decided to get the first two in the series before we share with our 8 year old. She's very intuitive, and has already been exposed to some inapproriate talk from school friends, but this book is a bit too much to start with. I did just start reading the American Girl, Care and Keeping of You, with her and she is excited about learning how her body is changing. We definitely want her to learn about sex from us, and with a God perspective, but we will definitely get the earlier books first.

Even though this book stated it was for a younger age group, I got it for my 14 yr. old. We had our first talk about sex when he was 9. When he started asking questions, I simply answered them the best I could. I have always wanted my kids to feel free to ask me anything. In reading this series of books I hope I have more of the answers they need and deserve to hear. My son enjoyed this book and stated that it has given him ideas of how to handle peer pressure. I have went ahead & ordered the remaining books. I have children in all the age catagories, so I hope to offer them a better understanding of God's gift with the use of these books. Just wish I had learned of them years ago!

I got this book to read with my 3 kids; ages 12, 10, and 8. I originally checked it out from the library to preview it, then decided it was worth buying. It portrays a son and daughter asking their parents about sex. I liked this format because it addressed akward topics in such an approachable way. It doesn't put any pressure on your kids to talk if they don't want to; if you simply read it with them, it opens the door for further discussion. If it's important to you that your kids learn about sex in the context of a married man and woman, you will appreciate this book.

This book series is a must-have tool for Christian parents. The books help children grow into a correct understanding of biblical sexuality.