Raising Faith-Filled Kids: Ordinary Opportunities to Nurture Spirituality at Home (Paperback)

by Tom McGrath (Author)
Key Phrases: special intention, help your children, Aunt Marie, Father's Day, Holy Week (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From The Washington Post
Tips on teaching children the importance of prayer, the sacred nature of everything, the meaning of religious objects, and the importance of forgiveness.

Review
If you ever wanted to be a great and inspiring parent, this book gives you the tools to learn how. -- Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator, #1 NEW YORK TIMES best-selling series CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

McGrath offers a comforting word to parents who daily face new challenges but who have now chosen the vision of family life as their spiritual path. -- Ministry & Liturgy

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Loyola Press (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829414258
• ISBN-13: 978-0829414257
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #266,840 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It made me smile, It made me say, "Oh Yes, this is true.", November 10, 2002

By	Susan Vogt (Covington, KY USA) - See all my reviews

Many books about religion and children sound like they're writtrn by monks or mother's with too much time on their hands. Now I have great respect for the religious men and women who have graced my own life but their expertize is not in raising children. On the other hand mothers know a lot about raising children, but if one has the luxury of writing a book while in the midst of parenting, perhaps that family is not too typical. As a mother of four I never had much discretionary time.

My husband and I took our faith seriously and tried our best to share it with our children but it is only in hindsight that I recognize the truth and wisdom that Tom McGrath has taken the time to put on paper so that those of us too busy doing it, can also be intentional about sharing with our dear ones that faith which is so dear to us. Add to that the bonus that McGrath writes with such a refreshing and non-pietisic style that it makes faith come alive and reminds us of our deepest beliefs.

All this would be fine but irrelevant if it just added more time consuming practices to a parent's already busy life. Then we'd have to add guilt and feelings of inadequacy to our list of parenting failures. But McGrath lets us in to the realm of faith sharing gently. He shows us how it's not just about going to church and saying memorized prayers but it's also about how we take the ordinary times and people in our lives and recognize their holiness. It doesn't necessarily take more time, it just takes awareness.

I especially liked the story of how children pick up faith not only from their parents but are helped, sometimes invisibly, by other relatives and friends that surround our families. For example, he tells of how, as a child, an older relative patiently explained to him the stories behind the holy cards that fell out of her prayer book. It put flesh on the sometimes vague concept of the "communion of saints". Raising Faith-Filled Kids goes on to offer numerous other prompts that remind us of how God works through every day family life. It's nice to have a book that invites, gives creative ideas, and encourages but doesn't preach. It's also nice that it was written by a father - not that he had much time either.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It made me smile, It made me say, "Oh Yes, this is true.", November 10, 2002

By	Susan Vogt (Covington, KY USA) - See all my reviews

Many books about religion and children sound like they're writtrn by monks or mother's with too much time on their hands. Now I have great respect for the religious men and women who have graced my own life but their expertize is not in raising children. On the other hand mothers know a lot about raising children, but if one has the luxury of writing a book while in the midst of parenting, perhaps that family is not too typical. As a mother of four I never had much discretionary time.

My husband and I took our faith seriously and tried our best to share it with our children but it is only in hindsight that I recognize the truth and wisdom that Tom McGrath has taken the time to put on paper so that those of us too busy doing it, can also be intentional about sharing with our dear ones that faith which is so dear to us. Add to that the bonus that McGrath writes with such a refreshing and non-pietisic style that it makes faith come alive and reminds us of our deepest beliefs.

All this would be fine but irrelevant if it just added more time consuming practices to a parent's already busy life. Then we'd have to add guilt and feelings of inadequacy to our list of parenting failures. But McGrath lets us in to the realm of faith sharing gently. He shows us how it's not just about going to church and saying memorized prayers but it's also about how we take the ordinary times and people in our lives and recognize their holiness. It doesn't necessarily take more time, it just takes awareness.

I especially liked the story of how children pick up faith not only from their parents but are helped, sometimes invisibly, by other relatives and friends that surround our families. For example, he tells of how, as a child, an older relative patiently explained to him the stories behind the holy cards that fell out of her prayer book. It put flesh on the sometimes vague concept of the "communion of saints". Raising Faith-Filled Kids goes on to offer numerous other prompts that remind us of how God works through every day family life. It's nice to have a book that invites, gives creative ideas, and encourages but doesn't preach. It's also nice that it was written by a father - not that he had much time either.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy Family Reading, April 28, 2001

By	paul b obis (oak park, il United States) - See all my reviews

Mr. McGrath does an excellent job giving parents useful advice in an area not often covered in our culture. Tone is conversational, friendly and comfortable. This book will help you to relate to your children better.