“I wish that myself as a child could have known that a good future was coming, so that the dark nights didn’t seem quite as cold. However, the coldness of the past makes me value even more the warmth of friendship now.”
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“I was constantly reminded that the increasing teen rebellion in America and elsewhere was the direct result of parents abandoning these ‘Biblical’ child training principles. Imagine my surprise to discover that there are entire cultures of people who use exactly the opposite of ‘Biblical’ parenting, yet produce teenagers who are cooperative and contributing members of society.”
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“In my early 20s, I had my first experience living away from home. It was a Really Big Deal. Me — a weak, vulnerable, easily-decieved woman, according to the teachings of my family’s pastor Reb Bradley — out on my own, flying to a faraway state. I was going to spend a few months living and studying music at Bill Gothard’s Indianapolis Training Center.”
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“Being a parent is incredibly challenging, and the constant stream of conflicting advice about parenting only adds confusion to the challenge. There’s an extra level of stress for many devout Christian parents because raising upstanding citizens is not enough for them; they also desperately want their children to share their faith and religious convictions.”
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“Of all the bad parenting ideas we’ve seen so far in this book, this one is really the last nail in the coffin. The parental suspicion, the extreme levels of control, the abusive spanking — this combination is very likely to lead to a severe family crisis. And when some members of the family reach their breaking point, they will tragically find themselves isolated from all other forms of support, advice, and information, thanks to Reb Bradley.”
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“Whatever your feelings on spanking, I think that we can all come together to condemn the abusive spanking instructions that are given to parents in this book. You see, Reb Bradley views spanking not as one of many parenting tools, but as the only tool.”
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“Reb Bradley’s extreme emphasis on authority and obedience hinder children’s ability to develop the skills they need for adulthood. The child, as a result, is likely to be more vulnerable, while the parent is at risk of developing abusive habits from holding so much power.”
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“Many fundamentalist homeschooling parents, who are the primary audience of the book, spend far more time supervising their children and are much more focused on details. With those parents, these parenting techniques can quickly escalate from bad to abusive. With all of that in mind, here is my first criticism of Reb Bradley’s ‘Child Training Tips.'”
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“The small collection of homeschooling families who attended Reb Bradley’s church Hope Chapel along with my family had high hopes for their children. Yet in the dozen years since, many sincere and dedicated parents have seen all their work fall apart before their very eyes as their children reached adulthood, or even earlier. I am one of many who didn’t ‘turn out right,’ yet another disappointment to the former parents and leadership of Hope Chapel.”
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“I have been able to overcome my deeply ingrained childhood perceptions for myself, and feel like a functioning and happy member of the big outside world. However, I am unexpectedly having to go through the same process again, now that I am in the role of a mother. All the progress I made for myself, I am having to do again, this time for my son.”
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