Building Better Families: A Practical Guide to Raising Amazing Children (Hardcover)

by Matthew Kelly (Author)
Key Phrases: raising amazing children, deeper yes, unchanging purpose, The Changing Face of Families, The Future of the World Passes, Way of the Family (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Praise for Building Better Families

“All parents share the same awesome responsibility–to bring out the best in their children. This wonderful book will help you do just that. Matthew Kelly shares his experiences from growing up in a loving family of eight children, and the insight and wisdom that resulted. He’s given us an easy-to-read, heartwarming, and practical guide to raising great kids.”
–Hal Urban, author of Life’s Greatest Lessons

Perfectly Yourself

“Compelling . . . pragmatic . . . transcendental . . . You don’t have to leave your own backyard to find enduring happiness. . . . [Perfectly Yourself] is accessible to any belief system.”
–Wichita Falls Times Record News

The Rhythm of Life

“I loved this book! It provides significant insights into living a happier, healthier, more rewarding life.”
–Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The Seven Levels of Intimacy

“A highly readable, well-written book that contains deep wisdom and practical guidance about relationships that will be useful to everyone seeking genuine and durable intimacy, especially couples. I highly recommend it.”
–Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
Praise for Building Better Families

“All parents share the same awesome responsibility–to bring out the best in their children. This wonderful book will help you do just that. Matthew Kelly shares his experiences from growing up in a loving family of eight children, and the insight and wisdom that resulted. He’s given us an easy-to-read, heartwarming, and practical guide to raising great kids.”
–Hal Urban, author of Life’s Greatest Lessons

Perfectly Yourself

“Compelling . . . pragmatic . . . transcendental . . . You don’t have to leave your own backyard to find enduring happiness. . . . [Perfectly Yourself] is accessible to any belief system.”
–Wichita Falls Times Record News

The Rhythm of Life

“I loved this book! It provides significant insights into living a happier, healthier, more rewarding life.”
–Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The Seven Levels of Intimacy

“A highly readable, well-written book that contains deep wisdom and practical guidance about relationships that will be useful to everyone seeking genuine and durable intimacy, especially couples. I highly recommend it.”
–Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345494539
• ISBN-13: 978-0345494535
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #96,983 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Version of Myself, March 7, 2008

By	catholic carrie (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews

Matthew Kelly is a motivating, dynamic and incredible messenger of truth for all. I would recommend Building Better Families to all members of the human family not just to the people who are raising children at the moment. He emphasizes filtering all your choices for yourself (or for those you are entrusted with caring for) through the question of "Will this help me to become the best version of myself?" That question brings clarity and reason back to the big decisions and the smaller choices in life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grandparents, get this book and give it to your children, March 28, 2008

By	P. Danesi "grandfather of 6" (boston, ma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Grandparents, you know all the advice you give your children and you are not sure they are listening ? Give them this book. This is a great book for raising all grandchildren and not just the amazing ones. The messages and directions are simple, similar to Rhythm of Life which is an earlier book by Matthew Kelly (and should also be shared with your children, especially the CD version, because we all know they don't have time to read.)

The ability for all of us to share messages of love and affection and caring, the approach to valuing time, the need to develop sincerity, and the need to show parental love as a real emotion and not an abstract, not a throw away remark to justify doing something unpleasant, are well laid out and solidly applied.

The goals espoused are all attainable with some reprioritization and focus. They do not require joining a commune, adopting holistic practices, or removing all wheat based products from your diet.

The book is an easy read for grandparents who will find themselves shouting out "yes", and crying out "listen to this" and wanting immediately to jump up and hug them all, big and small, toddler and teenager, and, yes, their parents. Maybe they will even start going to church.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mighty powerful read/listen to!, June 27, 2008

By	Anne Elizabeth "Anne Elizabeth" (Steubenville, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Better Families: A Practical Guide to Raising Amazing Children (Audio CD)

This product is for any parent out there interested in raising children successfully in this very scary and backwards world! By success, I mean "children that are happy, healthy, and know who they are both as persons and as memebers of their family". Besides being a great buy, it's also a GREAT GIFT! That came from the family that I purchased this CD set for. =-) If you ever get a chance to hear the speaker in person, I highly recommend it!