Why Children Matter

In the Garden of Eden, there was only one "No." Everything else was "Yes."

In this short book on Christian childrearing, Douglas Wilson points out that we have a Father who delights in us and makes it easy for us to love and obey Him. If that is the kind of Father we have, shouldn't we earthly parents do the same? Wilson explains how parents should not just try to get their kids to obey a set of rules or to make their house so fun that following the rules is always easy. Instead, he calls for parents to instill in their kids a love for God and His standards that will serve them well all their days.

This book also features an appendix in which Doug and his wife Nancy answer various parents' questions about various applications of the principles discussed in this book.

What People Are Saying

"Back to my opening question: Would I give this book to my own daughter as advice on parenting? Yes. Why Children Matter will point parents to Jesus and help them think about parenting in a gospel-centered fashion.... The gospel is to be applied and lived out in our homes. This matters most, beyond methods and specific practices." -Gregg Strawbridge, The Gospel Coalition

"Doug is a father and a grandfather. He’s also a pastor. He’s been around a while. He’d done some things and he’s seen some things. His reflections on raising children draw on the scriptures, naturally. But they are seasoned with the wisdom of years. Without that you might as well save your money just stick to your Bible and a concordance. But the book is worth the money because this is tested wisdom; not tested in laboratories–those antiseptic things, but in the messy places we call households." -C.R. Wiley, Patheos, author of Man of the House

"Here are two useful takeaways. One, 'Love God, love what you are doing, and love the people God gave you to do it with.' That’s worth thinking about. And two, 'Remember that God gave Adam and Eve a perfect garden: there was a world full of yes, and there was only one no.'" -Susan Olasky, WORLD