The Heart of Anger

Rating:
Summary: Lots of great insights, but maybe a little idealistic.
Review: This is the second book I have read by Lou Priolo (the first was "The Complete Husband"), and was not disappointed by the wealth of insights that he provides to approach parenting in a purposeful, Bible-based way. Keep in mind that this book was written by a Christian, for Christians who are committed to following Christ themselves and teaching their children to do the same. If you are not a believer, if you do not have the power of the Holy Spirit living in you, you will find many of the principles in this book very difficult, if not impossible, to put into practice.

Priolo's approach to dealing with angry children, and with parenting in general, is to identify the symptoms of a child-centered home as compared to a God-centered home. Once the reader is able to assess his or her own situation, Priolo touches on many key problems of parenting and provides scripturally sound advice to solve them. Issues like anger, obedience, respect, and servanthood are all explored as the author teaches us to look past a child's outward behavior to identify and deal with the issues of the heart. "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." The tools provided in this book will equip the godly parent to bring up their progeny without provoking them to wrath.

My only criticism is that Lou Priolo seems to have a somewhat idealistic, or at least overly optimistic, view of what the average parent is able to implement in today's hurried culture. He offers suggestions like repetitious journaling and roleplaying, or use of the "Think Room" (where children are given the opportunity to study biblical principles about their behavior), to train kids in the right way to act and respond to their parents. As I read these sections, along with some of the illustrative dialogues, I thought to myself, "Yeah, right. Who has time for that? And who in the world talks to their kids like that?" That's not to say these suggestions are useless, but for most of us they'll have to be "stripped down" to a more manageable form if they're going to be truly practical.

Overall, I took away some great insights which I plan to work into my own parenting plan. While the author acknowledges this is hard work, he reminds us that by God's grace we can handle it, and the reward will make it all worthwhile.