If you had the opportunity to get some great advice about raising your children to become responsible adults would you listen? I definitely would. What if this person is 82 years old, has been married for 56 years, has three grown children, has taught Sunday School for half a century and is the CEO/founder of a national fast food chain called Chick-Fil-A? Well, hopefully I've peaked your curiosity so that I can tell you all about him now.

This person's name is Truett Cathy. Even though he has the excellent credentials of founding a nationwide successful business you'll be even more impressed that he is an author of a book to take notice of if you're a parent struggling to raise your children right.
The book Mr. Cathy has written is called It's Better to Build Boys Than to Mend Men. I was excited to learn about this book on a radio program called Family Life Today with Dennis Rainey. Mr. Cathy thoroughly discusses his book. I love to hear radio shows that highlight a book with the author present because you get to hear why they wrote the book, their background, and what they consider the very best parts of their book!

When Truett Cathy was growing up his Dad was present in the home but did not invest his time and energy in his son. Instead young Truett learned about success in life watching his mother. In the broadcast the author said he realized when he was young "If I ever have anything in life I'd have to work for it." The author has had lots of opportunities to work with children and teenagers. He raised three of his own and has several grandchildren. He has worked with teenagers throughout the years teaching them good work ethics which honor God in his business. Throughout his many years of teaching Sunday School he has taught the Bible to young boys.

The author gives us some sage parenting advice in his book. Even though it focuses on boys, there's some great advice in there for raising both boys and girls. I consider it the highlight of the book. I am quoting the list from the radio broadcast.

7 Reminders for Building Children

1. Stop arguing in front of your children.
2. You may think your children have outgrown the desire to be rocked to sleep at night, they haven't.
3. Every child I know who overcame long odds and grew into responsible adults can point to an adult who stepped into their life as a friend, mentor, and guide.
4. Don't be too concerned that your children don't listen to you. Be very concerned that they see everything you do.
5. Be so consistent in your discipline that you're boring.
6. Children will never believe in the covenant of marriage unless they see you living it with their own eyes.
7. How do you know if a child needs encouragement? Well, if the child is breathing, they need encouragement.

This is some great info. If you're like me you'll want to read through it, try one or two of them out on your children and then come back, refresh your memory and apply the others.