Synopses & Reviews
Raising a child has never been more challenging. If you ever doubt yourself or wonder if it is worth the heartache, read this little book. If you worry that your family will not weather life's storms or if you fear losing your children to the prevailing culture, read it again.
Why Children Matter offers biblical wisdom and commonsense advice on how to hold a family together and raise children with character.
Johann Christoph Arnold, a father, grandfather and pastor, has written eleven books, including three on parenting and children's education. As the fabric of family and society is torn apart, this book offers up concrete steps to encourage parents faced with difficult child-rearing decisions.
Review
Arnold's words ring true and are desperately needed. Alice von Hildebrand, Ph.D., Hunter College
Review
Every book Arnold writes is a masterpiece. We must take to heart the lessons he offers and treasure each child. < b=""> Sr. Carol Keehan, <> President and CEO, Catholic Health Association
Review
An approach to parenting that is time-tested, completely up-to-date, and solidly grounded in faith. Arnold offers concrete steps to encourage parents. < b=""> Timothy Cardinal Dolan, <> Archbishop of New York
Review
Arnold's words ring true and are desperately needed. < b=""> Alice von Hildebrand, <> Ph.D., Hunter College
About the Author
People have come to expect sound advice from Johann Christoph Arnold, an award-winning author with over a million copies of his books in print in more than 20 languages. A noted speaker and writer on marriage, parenting, and end-of-life issues, Arnold is a senior pastor of the Bruderhof, a movement of Christian communities. With his wife, Verena, he has counseled thousands of individuals and families over the last forty years. His books include Why Forgive?, Rich in Years, Seeking Peace, Cries from the Heart, Be Not Afraid, and Why Children Matter. Arnold's message has been shaped by encounters with great peacemakers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, César Chavez, and John Paul II. Together with paralyzed police officer Steven McDonald, Arnold started the Breaking the Cycle program, working with students at hundreds of public high schools to promote reconciliation through forgiveness. This work has also brought him to conflict zones from Northern Ireland to Rwanda to the Middle East. Closer to home, he serves as chaplain for the local sheriff's department. Born in Britain in 1940 to German refugees, Arnold spent his boyhood years in South America, where his parents found asylum during the war; he immigrated to the United States in 1955. He and his wife have eight children, 42 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. They live in upstate New York.
Table of Contents
Contents A Note to the Reader Introduction 1 The Childlike Spirit 2 Founding a Family 3 The Unborn Child 4 Birth 5 Motherhood 6 Fatherhood 7 Creating a Home 8 The Role of Grandparents 9 The First Years 10 Teaching Respect 11 Spoiling Your Child 12 Discipline 13 Explaining Life, Death, and Suffering 14 Religious Education 15 When Children Suffer 16 The Special Child 17 Adoption 18 Children and Sin 19 Building Character 20 Consideration for Others 21 Teenagers 22 Conclusion