Review: Power Parenting in the LDS Home by Randal A. Wright

Published: January 2014, 317 pages
My Rating: *****--5 Stars

About the Book: 
“When I’m a parent, I’ll never…” Randal Wright, PhD, interviewed over 500 LDS adults about their upbringing. Each chapter is based on the most common mistakes and successes of their parents, such as being available during critical times in children’s lives making the home a place of fun and laughter building a strong marriage and setting an example of how marriage works using balanced and consistent discipline with children. Benefit from the 20/20 hindsight of experience by learning these principles. Whether you’re a first-time parent or a seasoned veteran looking for new insight, you can become the extraordinary parent you want to be! 
 
My Review:
The author starts out with a story that really engages the reader--right in the introduction! Each chapter focuses on a potential parenting mistake and is filled with real life stories, many from his own experiences, quote by prophets and other church leaders, scripture references, studies and statistics, and more. I found the combination of these to be fantastic. I didn't feel like I was being preached to and like I'm not doing anything right, yet I realized that there are some areas that I need to work on and I have some great ideas on how to go about making changes. Things were told in a straightforward and kind way.

There are 25 chapters--some of them are: quality time, the crossroads, family traditions, peer pressure, television, music, movies, parental examples, physical affection, family fun, discipline, steady dating, underage dating, communication, self-worth, and warning signs. There were funny stories and stories that made me stop and think. There were spiritual stories and tender moment.

This is a book that I will read again because it seems like there's something for everyone and as each child is different, I'm sure different things will pop out at me, depending on which child is on my mind at the moment.

Meet the Author:
 
Randal Wright has been fascinated by the study of families for many years. Seeking ways to raise righteous children led to his receiving a B.S. and M.S. with emphasis in the family area and then a Ph.D. in Family Studies from Brigham Young University. He worked for many years as an Institute director for the Church Education System and taught at BYU in the religion department. He has written several books in the past on family topics including Families in Danger: Protecting Your Family in an X-rated World, Building Better Homes and Families and The Case for Chastity: Helping Youth Stay Morally Clean. He has spoken across the United States, Canada and England and has been a frequent speaker at BYU Campus Education Week and the Especially for Youth program for many years. Randal and his wife Wendy live in Austin, Texas and are the parents of five children and sixteen grandchildren.