Modern Parents, Vintage Values: An Honest Review

Raising kids in today’s world is a daunting task. Modern parents are up against serious, unprecedented issues. But we want to instill the timeless values from previous generations that are sadly lacking in the world today. How are we to do this?? Modern Parents, Vintage Values is here to help!

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Raising children today is a daunting task. And, frankly, it scares me sometimes. (Read this post from social media about my temptation to fear and how I fight it.)

Related Post: 5 Prayers to Combat Mom Fear

Anxiety and depression are rampant, technology is evolving faster than parents can regulate it, and society’s morals and values are in a steep decline.

The world we’re raising our kids in looks VASTLY different from the child-rearing days of our parents or grandparents. So, it goes without saying that modern parenting needs to look different from any of the previous generations. Many traditional parenting methods just aren’t going to cut it anymore.

And yet… many of those foundational, “old-fashioned” values are ones we still want to instill in our kids. Values such as kindness, gratitude, integrity, responsibility, work ethic, and good manners.

So, what’s a modern parent to do??

Enter Modern Parents, Vintage Values: Instilling Character in Today’s Kids, by Sissy Goff and Melissa Trevathan.

This book, written by two certified, experienced family counselors, equips parents in their fight against the anxiety, danger, disrespect, entitlement, etc. in today’s culture, and helps them instill the ageless values that will serve them well the rest of their lives.

And it’s a book you definitely want to have on your bookshelf.

**Note: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher to review.

Modern Parents, Vintage Values

Summary

Here is the official summary:

“Why is anxiety so rampant among kids today? What’s the magic age for giving my child his first cell phone? Her first social media account? How do I teach my teenager things like gratitude and respect in such an entitled and disrespectful world?

Melissa Trevathan and Sissy Goff hear these types of questions on a daily basis in their counseling offices and at parenting events across the country. Today, more than ever before, we live in a culture that is at war against our parenting. And today, more than ever before, we’re meeting parents who feel lost as to how to help.

This book does just that. It addresses the issues we hear parents struggling with the most when it comes to raising their children (technology, disrespect, entitlement, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, etc.), but it doesn’t stop there. Melissa and Sissy move through those modern-day troubles to get back to the vintage values we all deeply value in the lives of kids. They help you discover—whether your child is a toddler or a teenager—what it looks like to cultivate kindness, gratitude, integrity, responsibility and more in the lives of the kids you love.

Modern Parents, Vintage Values offers you a roadmap—a way through the hurdles you are facing today in your parenting—helping you discover more of how to instill those true, foundational, vintage values that will make a lasting difference in the lives of your kids…values that are built upon an unshakeable foundation of faith and hope. And that’s ultimately where this map will lead—to Christ—and to what it looks like for both you and your kids to have hope in Him in these changing times.“

My Thoughts

This book was a veritable treasure trove of information and practical help for parents. My goodness, it was packed with facts and statistics, stories from their 75+ years of combined experience, and both big-picture and on the ground advice.

The book is set up in three parts:

Part 1 tackles some of the most common issues facing modern parents
Part 2 guides parents in teaching nine “vintage values”
Part 3 shares “timeless truths” that will help parents rise to the challenge

The first part was a bit daunting (disturbing, even), and I could feel myself growing anxious at times. But it was information I needed. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend these dangers don’t exist. Remaining in the ignorance and false security of “my kid would never” is exactly how parents get blindsided and caught unprepared.

I was impressed with the level and quantity of advice in the second part. Each of the nine chapters contained thorough a definition and explanation of its respective value and offered tips for instilling it in both children and teens. (Which is super helpful for parents in different stages of raising children.)

I had a few minor complaints — some of the family suggestions were a bit hokey, and I didn’t always see the relevance of the anecdotes.

But overall, I would definitely recommend Modern Parents, Vintage Values as a valuable resource for anyone raising kids today.

—>> GET YOUR COPY HERE <<—

A Few Favorite Quotes From Modern Parents, Vintage Values

“Being a modern parent today looks entirely different than it did ten years ago. With technology, it often looks different than it did ten minutes ago. The good news is that Vintage Values haven’t changed. Timeless Truths that we gather from Scripture certainly haven’t.”

“Hold off on technology as long as you can, until you believe they’re ready. But don’t hold off so long that they’re not learning the responsibility that only you can teach under your roof.”

“But we don’t want to parent out of fear. When we do, the emphasis is more on preventing than on encouraging. It becomes more about control than it does relationship. It centers on what is wrong in the world rather than who you and your child can be in the midst of it.”

“Our fear of creating insecurity in the children we love often guarantees it.”

“You can have compassion and empower your child at the same time.”

“Don’t overreact to their overreacting. Emotion begets more emotion.”

“Help them learn what to do rather than just what not to do.”

“… it is easy to major in the sins of our children and minor in our own.”

“Children who are constantly criticized have a difficult time with integrity because they are desperate to please.”

“Your children need you to live in a way that makes them not only want to be alive themselves but to be alive in Christ.”