Book Review: Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

Hi friends! How are your new year's resolutions going? I have finished my first book of the year and it was so great! I'm excited to share it with you today. Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World is Kristen Welch's newest book. You may recognize her as the co-founder of Mercy House Kenya and Fair Trade Friday. Her travels, her work with the young moms in Kenya, and her own parenting experience as a mother of three, come together to give her a unique and valuable message about parenting in the 21st century. I love that she draws from other writers and speakers as well in the book. She shares thoughts and research about how we are making our families overly kid-centric, and setting up impossible standards. I was lucky enough to get an advance e-copy of the book for my honest review, so I can give you a peak at what you have to look forward to when it comes out THIS WEEK! 

Here's a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

"The American Dream  and the pursuit of happiness have morphed from a quest for general contentment to the idea that you must be happy at all times and in every way.(--Lori Gottlieb) If we fix every problem, cater to every need, and bend over backwards to keep our kids happy all the time we are setting them up for a false reality because life won't always offer them the same courtesy. " 

Any of that sound familiar to anyone? I have seen so many articles lately detailing how utterly unprepared for life the upcoming generation of young adults is. This book hits the nail on the head and addresses some of the biggest problems facing teens and young professionals, because of choices their parents made or didn't make when they were younger. It's one of those books you find yourself saying "exactly!" to all the time. 

Overall it was just a great reminder of what our kids really need, and that it's ok for them to be different and not to have everything everyone else has. The truth is often times the kids that look like they have it all are missing the most important pieces, and their future adult-selves will be the sad ones proving it. After reading One Thousand Gifts last year, I heartily agree that authentic gratitude is absolutely essential to happiness. If we aren't grateful then likely that means we have set ourselves up to expect more, and nothing steals joy like disappointment. I don't think raising grateful kids means asking them to set their expectations low, rather, as Kristen talks about in the book, it is helping them to grasp the bigness of the world and their smallness in it. When we are able to expose our kids to different cultures, struggles that are common in many parts of the world, and even the difficulties those around us are facing; they are equipped with perspective and compassion that allows them to not only appreciate good things, but also to see how they can be part of good things for others. 

I think this would be an awesome book to go through as a book club with other parents. 

Kristen even has a free journal that you can download and print to go along with the book: go here.  And a discussion guide right here! So yeah, it was made to talk about with your friends, or your spouse, or both. : )

This book was a great way to start out the year. Parenting is not going to be easy, and not every moment is going to be happy; but love, gratitude, and a commitment to some biblical principles can still guide our kids to a happy life. And ultimately I think that's what all parents want for their kids. Order your copy today right here. 

Thanks for reading! You are loved!