Rating: 
Summary: WONDERFUL book from people with experience
Review: This book is a God-send for parents who want to "train their children in righteousness" as the Bible says, and who want their children to know and love the Lord more than they love themselves. As anyone who watches a baby for 10 minutes knows, their universe is centered around self. The Pearls' book teaches how to LOVINGLY (Michael talks repeatedly about "tying strings of fellowship" with your children - did the other people who wrote scathing reviews even READ that part???)guide your children away from their selfish desires to respect and obey authority, just as they must learn to respect and obey their heavenly Father. I have many friends who have used this book and their children are amazing, calm, godly children who are commented upon by others everywhere they go. We are using the book as well and have a child who is much calmer, knows he is loved, and laughs and smiles constantly. I am sad for those who wrote negative reviews about this book as I think they totally missed the point and maybe do not have the skills to read thoroughly as they obviously missed the point made over and over about disciplining in LOVE and not in anger. The Pearls have 5 beautiful, happy, accomplished children with children of their own. I have friends who have been to Tennessee and met the family and say they are WONDERFUL people with wonderful children. Please ignore the ignorant, negative, uninformed and uneducated comments of others who obviously did not carefully and prayerfully read the book, as it is a WONDERFUL book for parents who truly want to train their children "in the way they should go" (Prov 22). If you want your child to get his/her every desire and fulfill his own selfish whims, then this book is NOT for you, but God be with you AND with everyone around you when that child becomes a teenager who is still bent on fulfilling his every selfish wish!!!
Rating: 
Summary: This book is neither Christian nor biblically sound
Review: This book is neither Christian nor biblically sound. It is an over reaction to the permissive atmosphere that is prevelant today in child raising. Heavy emphasis is placed on how to discipline properly with the proper instrument for the proper reason. It is sick and a perversion of the gospel of Christ. It lacks Gods grace, being humble before the Lord, recognition that we are all sinners (even parents), and a lack of realization of our own failures. Heavy concentration is on the sinfulness of the child. If God dealt with us in the same manner that this book advocates chastising children, most of us would remove ourselves as far away from God as possible. The book promotes switching children who question, are defiant, rebellious or disobedient. The problem is how these things are defined. A 6 month old arching the back during a diaper change is considered defiant and needs correction, a 11 month old finished eating and pushing food away is rebellious and needs a switching, a child gets 5 licks with a switch for not getting in a car seat, then 5 more for still not complying. Children are switched for not being cheerful. God gently leads His people, guiding, correcting and teaching us in the way that we need to go. He is not harsh, He is like a Father who quietly, gently and yet firmly leads a child in the way he/she should go. Should not we parent by following Gods example in how He deals with us?
Scriptures are misused by being twisted and taken out of context. Its appeal is the raising of moral, godly children, which we all want. There is no cookie cutter formula for raising children. Parenting takes time, energy, patience, perseverance, understanding. The book advocates teaching children to obey by tempting them to disobey. God does not tempt us with evil so why would we tempt our children. All parents know children naturally get themselves into enough trouble with out us finding things to set them up to disobey to teach them to obey.
Yes children are to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right. They are to honor their mother and father but fathers are not to provoke their children to anger/wrath, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Normal correction is not going to provoke or exasperate; it is going to teach. Follow this book and exasperating your children could easily be the result.
I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Very dangerous
Review: This book is very dangerous. The things advocated are not only illegal (spanking, switching an infant!) they are very abusive. These people are an insult to the Christian religion. Their attitudes towards children AND women are disgusting and scary. Their whole agenda gives me the creeps!
Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: This book promotes child abuse and is less than useless for learning how to raise healthy, happy children.
Rating:
Summary: No Greater Waste of Money
Review: This book went in the trash can with the other Pearl propaganda I had purchased. The Pearls' method appeals to people who want a quick fix. The Pearls use ridicule and a critical spirit to intimidate undiscerning parents. They do not minister with understanding or grace. There is a lot of spiritual pride among the Pearls and their followers. It is human nature to want to believe that one's own child is better than someone else's. But God does not show partiality, and He hates pride. These folks advocate using spanking as a hobby and treating babies as animals. This book brought more pain to our house than joy. There are better ways to train children.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful companion book to "To Train Up a Child"
Review: This is a wonderful question/answer book from parents writing to the authors after reading their first book, "to train up a child" (which, by the way, is a MUST-READ if you are a Christian parent who believes the Bible). It gives great, practical examples of how to impliment the training techniques in the home and for different age ranges. ... The book, in no way, [encourages whipping a 6 month old baby with a leather belt]. These authors have such wonderful hearts for their children and are in no way abusive by any means.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent resource
Review: This is an excellent resource for practical tips on how to stop selfish, disruptive behavior in children before it begins. It gives great examples on how to encourage and motivate your children to be giving, caring, serving, and self-disciplined youths. Excellent for any parent's library who is serious about raising responsible young men and women as an integral part of the family and society.
Rating:
Summary: WWJD?
Review: WWJD? NOT follow the advice in this book for starters. The Pearls are sick, sadistic people who desperately need a therapist, jail time or both. Switching a 6 month old infant for disobeying the word "No" is insanity!!! They can't even understand language at that age! Can you *really* imagine Jesus striking a pre-verbal infant? With a switch? Repeatedly? They are teaching fear, hate and control. But, I suppose, if that is the nature of the god they worship then their methods make sense. Wasn't there a "New" Testament? Have these people ever heard of the Golden Rule? Would Michael Pearl enjoy being beaten every time he failed to meet the approval of an imperfect authority figure? I am sickened and disgusted to think of all the innocent children who have been permanently damaged by the information in this book. If the Pearls truly believe what they claim, they will have a lot of explaining to do in the afterlife. All they are teaching is that might makes right, to obey anyone bigger than you without question, and to control others through fear -- exactly the sort of message that the world does NOT need any more of. Aren't there enough terrorists in the world already? I urge NO ONE to buy this book and am very disappointed in amazon.com for advocating this type of violent, abusive and ILLEGAL behavior toward children.
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