The Danger of Raising Nice Kids: Preparing Our Children to Change Their World

It's not enough to raise kids who merely look nice on the outside. They have to have courageous, godly character on the inside. Tim Smith provides practical, biblical advice for parents who want to raise kids who will have an impact on their world by targeting nine key qualities kids often lack, such as compassion, discernment and healthy boundaries. Foreword by Tim Kimmel

What is the goal of Christian parenting? Timothy Smith, in his book The Danger of Raising Nice Kids, suggests that we need to do more than raise polite, well-dressed, nice children. Christian kids need to be prepared to do battle and struggle in this fallen world for the glory of God.

This book is written from the perspective of a child/youth counselor offering advice to parents. Its strength is not as a theological or biblically-driven treatment of parenting. Instead, Timothy Smith offers practical and helpful advice to help parents raise “courageous kids with character.” Smith repeatedly offers practical ideas, checklists, and suggestions that any parent can immediately implement.

Some of the very helpful chapters are those dealing with training your family and children in the areas of authenticity, empathy, compassion, and discernment. One of the best features of the book is found in appendix two where Smith provides an extended list of goals for your children in the different spheres of life (i.e., spiritual, social, mental, etc.).

As a counselor, Smith occasionally includes some thoughts and approaches that appear to be more psychologically than biblically based, such as, “Authentic people can love others because they have learned to love themselves” (p. 65), and “Jesus came to have an authentic relationship with each of us” (p. 71).

On the whole, however, this book will provide parents with much to think through as well as many practical ways to very intentionally disciple their children. Much is at stake as Smith well points out, “Out ultimate goal as a family is to advance God’s kingdom (not be comfortable, or accumulate wealth, or become famous)” (p. 50). – James Billings, Christian Book Previews.com

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Reviewed by John Yates (Denver, CO), September 15, 2008

The best book on raising kids that I've read to date. I have three children and want them to be independent followers of Christ, leaders among their peers. This book has so much to offer that I really feel that I'm going to need to read this like once a year to refresh myself and see just how we're doing.

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