Reviewing: Raising Uncommon Kids

Raising Uncommon Kids – 12 Biblical Traits You Need to Raise Selfless Kids

By Sami Cone

So I started reading Raising Uncommon Kids and then quit reading it at the 13^th paragraph: “If I wanted my daughter to change, I realized, the change had to start with me.”

Wait.  What?  I went back to the cover.  What had I missed?  How was this book meant to change my children from self-absorbed drama queens into beautiful Proverbs 31 women about changing me first?!  “12 Biblical Traits YOU NEED to Raise Selfless Kids.”  I missed the two simple words in all caps.  “YOU NEED.”  (So then I laughed nervously at my oversight, picked myself up off the floor, and took a few cleansing yoga breaths before I started reading again.)

Me.  It’s about me.  My children model so much about who my husband and I are . . . and their “uncommonality” and selflessness is bound to be no different.  Cone introduces and then dissects the 12 Biblical Traits we need to produce in our lives what we hope our children will emulate.  From Love and Harmony to Wisdom and Patience to Humility and Compassion, each chapter provides an explanation, a mirror to hold up and examine ourselves, a mentor moment that will allow us to share these truths with our children, and practical tips to cultivate these traits in our children.  And cultivate is the right word.  While Colossians 3:12-17 can feel like a giant to do list for creating peaceful homes, it is really a guide for what God can do through our homes and families as we submit to His way of thinking, parenting, and living together. 

These blog reviews always mean I have to read a book too fast to fully chew it, embrace it, and measure its change in my life.  As a result, some of them require deeper reading.  This is one of those books.  I hope I can find a group of parents to chew it and embrace it and measure its change in our families with me.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers Program in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review, and all views expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission guidelines.