It seems as though parents today are facing some of the greatest challenges ever in raising their kids. Now that may sound cliché but we are tasked with a society whose moral compass has gone askew. How are we to teach our children morality when society presses in and tries to tell them the opposite? Leila Miller and Trent Horn have written a book to help address these concerns. Made This Way: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today’s Tough Moral Issues is THE guidebook parents have been looking for.
“Sometimes it seems like we are living in a bizarre parallel universe. Right is wrong, up is down, men are women (and vice versa).” If this is how you feel then this is the book for you. Gone are the days of Ward Cleaver teaching the Beaver about the simple things in life such as play nice, do unto others, your parents know more than you think, share your toys, etc. Those are certainly still important lessons but we have to figure out how to guide children through topics like divorce, contraception, abortion, transgender identity, and homosexuality.
This shift in morals begs the question why? Since the sexual revolution, our society has been in a downward spiral. Like an ever-steady but persistent infection, morals have steadily eroded since. Not only have they eroded but things that are accepted these days were not even thought of a few short decades ago. This reality has left parents with a difficult task. How does one tell their children that sex outside of marriage is wrong when teens come home from school testifying how their friends are doing it routinely. How are parents to why contraception and abortion are wrong when schools indoctrinate students with how and why they should use both? And worse, how are parents to explain to youth today that man is a man and a woman is a woman when schools invite drag queens to read their students books (yes this has happened).
Leila tells us that, “Before I got married, I had eight theories about raising kids; now I have eight kids and no theories”. Many of us feel this way. Parenting does not come with an instruction manual, unfortunately. Our primary objective is to get our kids to heaven. The key to making this happen is to have a solid understanding of natural law which is simply the moral law inherently present in each of us. It is the law naturally ingrained in us by our creator. It’s that gentle voice that tells us that murder and stealing are wrong and it’s that same gentle voice that tells us that sexual immorality is just as wrong. Our job is to overcome the noise in a society that attempts to drown that voice out in our children.
What makes Made This Way such an exceptional book is how it is laid out. Leila and Trent tackle twelve moral issues facing youth today. Sex outside of marriage, same-sex marriage, divorce, contraception, abortion, reproductive technologies, modesty, pornography, transgender identity, and homosexuality. Each of these chapters is divided into three sections; What the Church Teaches, Advice for Little Kids, and Advice for Big Kids. This book is a complete guide that will certainly aid many parents in navigating the troubled waters of raising children today. If you are at all uncertain on how to address any of these topics with youth of any age bracket this is the book you need.
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