Bible Answers for Parents of Curious Kids

Bible Answers for Parents of Curious Kids is a wonderful little resource by Ed Strauss. It contains 101 common questions kids ask their parents about God, the Bible, Heaven, religion, etc. Having four kids myself ranging in age from 8-15 (and also working in a preschool Sunday School class), I've heard a LOT of questions. Sometimes the answers don't come easy, or I don't know how to communicate them in a way the kids can understand (recent example: when we were in the car, the song "There Is Power" by Lincoln Brewster came on and my 9 year old asked me "Mommy, what does there is power in the name of Jesus mean?". I floundered a bit as I tried several different ways of explaining it in a way she could grasp.)

While the publisher recommend this resource for parents of kids ages 5-8, I found much I could apply with my older kids as well. The thing I got most out of this book was how to explain certain things in simple language without using too high-level concepts. This little book has a variety of topics that cover a lot of bases, and it's a great resource to keep on the shelf for when you get those tricky questions!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review.

I really liked and appreciated this resource. 101 common and important questions that kids ages 5-8 might ask about God. Most answers are about 2 pages and written in a very easy to understand language, as in you could almost or could read the answer to your kid. This is not a parents or teachers guide, so it doesnt explain the answers or have any deeper explaination but honestly most adults would better understand their faith with a read from this book. The only thing i was dissappointed in was the all to common God loves you no matter what, which ok do believe God loves all small children, but there comes a time they become accountable to God and they even quoted the verse, God loves those who love Him. That verse is meaningless if God also loves the people who dont love God. God hates the workers of iniquity, the unrighteous or the wicked, lovers of violence... depending on your translation (Psalm 11:5). So we can't and shouldn't promise children or any adult for that matter that Jesus or God loves everyone no matter what. God is love, and loves the world, but not necessarily everyone in it. Giving false answers to kids to reassure them gives them a broken foundation and will distrust the church or parents if or when they did out they have been lied to. No to mention how hard it is to unteach or change their thinking later. Your simple answers for kids but still be true when you give them the full answer later, or we risk our kids not believing anything we say. Our words must always be true. That being said I still think this is a great resource but I would go though the book yourself first and make sure you agree and more importantly the word agrees with it all. However, we should always be discerning and there is far more right in this book than wrong. I will use it with my kids and even share with adults who still don't understand these ideas! ;)

It was a helpful book that tackled hard questions that Christian parents face. I have found applications for concepts in my own home and homeschool group.