It's no secret to you who know our family that we have wrestled for a couple of years now with a strong-willed child. While he is fun-loving, exuberant, and joyful, he is also downright stubborn and willful. God is teaching me to look at this not as entirely negative (despite the increasing number of gray hairs on my head), and He certainly taught me this through the reading of Aaron's Way. Kendra Smiley and her son, Aaron, co-authored this book about his journey from childhood to adulthood and the shaping of his strong-willed nature throughout. I found myself encouraged by the recounting of their experience and saw much of my son in the pages of this memoir. Some things that I took most to heart were these:
- Strong-willed children are always testing the boundaries to see if they are still there. They need to know that there are limits and they will be adhered to, time and time and time again.
- You must pick your battles with a strong-willed child wisely. The battles you choose to fight, you must win.
- The whole idea of shaping the strong-willed nature into something positive. I don't want to break our child, just reshape him.
- The Smileys impressed me because they knew their child and knew where they wanted him to go. They became his biggest advocate with those who misunderstood Aaron while also not allowing him to get away with wrong choices.
BOTTOM LINE: This book was a quick read but so filled with practical, godly advice for the parents of strong-willed children. I found myself encouraged and equipped for this marathon (not sprint) of raising my child(ren).
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