Parenting Resources
Bibles
The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories. Mission City Press, 2005.
The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories is a great place to start! The stories are short, simple, and easy to understand for even the youngest babies who enjoy being read to. This is a great first Bible for preschoolers to own.
Read with Me Bible: An NIrV Story Bible for Children. Zondervan, 2000.
The Read with Me Bible: An NIrV Story Bible for Children is a little more detailed and includes a few more stories than The Beginner’s Bible, but is still easy to understand. With vibrant illustrations, children will love looking through this Bible on their own and while you read to them.
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Illustrated by Jago. Zondervan, 2007.
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name is a beautifully written book that will help children begin to understand that the Bible is one story: God’s story of our salvation through His son, Jesus. I highly recommend that all families with children at home own this Bible!
The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm. Crossway, Redesign edition, 2014.
The Big Picture Story Bible just like it sounds, really presents the big picture of the Bible as one connected story of God’s love for the world. This Bible is very simple, but thorough in the stories it covers. Where the stories in The Jesus Storybook Bible are long and detailed, The Big Picture Story Bible has shorter and simplified versions of the stories.
Music
What better way to begin hiding the Word of God in your child’s heart than through music?
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Seeds Family Worship now has 8 albums, each full of songs whose lyrics are taken straight from the Bible. Check out their website http://www.seedsfamilyworship.com.
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Yancy (not Nancy!) has several albums that are both inspirational and fun that preschoolers will beg to listen to over and over again. Go to her website http://www.yancynotnancy.com
Parenting Books
Dare to Discipline and Parenting Isn’t For Cowards, both by Dr. James Dobson, are classics that have newer editions and have been updated to address parenting in today’s modern context. Anything by Dr. Dobson is great, but these two books are excellent resources as they deal with issues every parent faces.
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Dobson, James C. The New Dare to Discipline. Tyndale Momentum; Reissue edition, 2014.
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Dobson, James C. Parenting Isn’t for Cowards: The “You Can Do It” Guide for Hassled Parents from America’s Best-Loved Family Advocate. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2007.
Shepherding a Child’s Heart is for parents with children of any age. Instead of just dealing with the actions of a child, this books book encourages you to look deeper, into the matters of your child’s heart.
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Tripp, Tedd. Shepherding a Child’s Heart. Shepherd Press, 1995.
Discipleship
Amanda White has written three devotional type eBooks, and I highly recommend them to parents of preschoolers (and even elementary-aged kids!). One focuses on Easter, one on Christmas, and one on prayer. You can find all three on her website (ohamanda.com) as well as her blog and other devotionals to go through with your kids.
Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God is for parents who are committed to the spiritual instruction of their children. Written by a theologian who took his own young children through the basics of theology, he leads parents through discussions with their children.
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Ware, Bruce A. Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God. Crossway Books, 2009.