Love and Respect in the Family

Love & Respect in the Family
Written by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Published at W Publishing Group – an imprint of Thomas Nelson

About the book

Children need love.  Parents need respect.

It is as simple and complex as that!

When frustrated with an unresponsive child, a parent doesn’t declare, “You don’t love me.” Instead the parent asserts, “You are being disrespectful right now.” A parent needs to feel respected, especially during conflicts. When upset a child does not whine, “You don’t respect me.” Instead, a child pouts, “You don’t love me.” A child needs to feel loved, especially during disputes.

But here’s the rub: An unloved child (or teen) negatively reacts in a way that feels disrespectful to a parent. A disrespected parent negatively reacts in a way that feels unloving to the child.  This dynamic gives birth to the FAMILY CRAZY CYCLE.

So how is one to break out of this cycle? Best-selling author Emerson Eggerichs has studied the family dynamic for more than 30 years, having his Ph.D. in Child and Family Ecology. As a senior pastor for nearly two decades, Eggerichs builds on a foundation of strong biblical principles, walking the reader through an entirely new way to approach the family dynamic. For instance, God reveals ways to defuse the craziness with our children from preschooler to teen, plus how to motivate them to obey and how to deal with them when they don’t. In the Bible, God has spoken specifically to parents on how to parent. This book is about that revelation.

My Thoughts

As soon as I realized that a parental version of the best seller Love & Respect was published I knew it would be a book that will be worth reading.   And I wasn’t disappointed.   Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has found a way to encourage parents to stop the Family Crazy Cycle and instruct their children to respect them.  At the same time, he put some emphasis on the importance of love for a child.   Without knowing it, you will suddenly realize where changes need to be done in your parenting and how you can ameliorate the atmosphere in your home.  

Once you understand the Family Crazy Cycle and learn to defuse it, you can create a new cycle for your family – more specifically, you will learn to establish an Energizing Cycle in order to have better relationships with each other.   In this specific section of the book you and your family will learn to give, understand each other, how to instruct, how to discipline, how to encourage, and how to supplicate for your kids.  A chapter will also emphasize the importance of teamwork between the husband and wife which personally I find essential.   Finally, the last chapter of this section will provide guidance on how to relate to a child that is a different gender than yourself.   Part of this chapter will guide moms to relate to their sons and the other part will help dads to better understand their daughters.

The last section of the book presents the Family Rewarded Cycle.   This specific section will teach you why we need to parent God’s way, how to love no matter what, how to avoid the outcomes trap and how your response (or how you react) is in fact your responsibility.   Like it or not, whether your are a new parent or a parent for numerous years (in our case we are just around the teenage years), it is always beneficial to learn from experts on parenting.   I consider Dr. Eggerichs one of the few authors I would trust when it comes to parenting and marital advices.  

The book is definitively a must have for parents who are struggling with lack of respect in the home.   As you read it you might be surprised to discover that the lack of respect is directly linked with the lack of love your kids might feel.   I would like to strongly encourage all parents to read this book.   It is packed with wisdom on every page.

Love & Respect in the Family is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

Hardcover

   

Paperback

   

Kindle

   

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Nelson for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.