Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World - Time to Overthrow the "Self-Esteem" Regime

Several years ago when my kids were but little tots, my husband and I were browsing a toy store with them.  The next row over we heard a female voice dropping the f-bomb with profusion.  Concerned that our offspring would pick up a new vocabulary word, my husband decided to ask the woman to shift her conversation to a G-rating.   We were in a toy store, after all.  Imagine his surprise when he discovered the perpetrator of the profanity was a teenaged girl.

Now my husband is a big muscular guy, kinda scary looking if you don’t know him.  He walked up to her and asked her politely to watch her language.  She sneered and proceeded to light and lob an f-bomb directly at my husband – then walked away. 

We all have similar stories to tell.  Bratty kids pitching a fit in the grocery store,  surly teens mumbling under their breath.  Maybe, even, truth be told, our own kids are turning into despots in our very homes.  It just seems kids are becoming more and more out of control and disrespectful.  But don’t throw up your hands quite yet. 

Obviously, Little Miss Kiss-My-Tuckus’s parents never read Jill Rigby’s book Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World.

Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World gives hope to parents whose kids may not be turning out to be those upstanding citizens mom and dad envisioned them to be when they first brought their blanket-swaddled bundles home from the hospital.

Rigby unveils the fallacy that all our kids need is a healthy dose of self-esteem.  According to Rigby, the self-esteem movement that swept the nation in the 70s becoming one of the foundational tenets in parenting, has decimated the character of countless children.  Concern about a child’s self esteem has created self-absorbed, selfish and disrespectful children and adults.

Through Raising Respectful Children, Rigby calls for this madness to stop and asks parents to take a hard look at their parenting techniques – are we raising confident, caring, and courteous human beings, or self-centered, ill-equipped men and women who can’t take care of themselves and couldn’t care less for others?

Honestly, Rigby is on the mark with this book.  Parents need to be concerned about their children’s character and not their social status or – gasp – shall I say it – “happiness”.  Rigby contends that we need to be parents, not best friends.  We need to correct and rebuke without worrying about whether or not our kids will be happy about it. 

But Raising Respectful Children is not a book written to make parents hang their heads. Including a small group study guide, Rigby’s book is overflowing with encouragement and practical advice on how to build Godly character in our kids. 

From media choices to how to create memorable family bonding times, this book will equip every parent wanting to raise kids who will be respectful and successful in the things that truly matter.