Put the Disciple into Discipline: Parenting with Love and Limits is a practical parenting book by Erin MacPherson and Ellen Schuknecht. Erin is a mother of three kids, and Ellen is a mother of three adult children and eleven grandchildren. The authors talk about topics relating to parenting, such as self-control, perfection, gratefulness, shame, anger, belonging, kindness, modesty, morality, bullying, fear, and faith. The book also includes stories of how the authors parented in specific situations, and it also explores the child’s point of view in these situations.

One of my favorite chapters of Ellen’s was “Drifting Apart,” which discusses navigating relationships with your children as they gain independence and separate identities from their parents. One of my favorite chapters of Erin’s was “When Shame Takes Over,” which examines how to help a shame-driven child and gives practical solutions for dealing with shame.

I loved Ellen’s chapter on modesty – especially how the author points out how damaging illogical modesty rules can be for children. Erin’s chapter on bullying is probably more beneficial if your child is the bully rather than if they are being bullied. (On a side note, if your child is being picked on, there are many books and websites specifically devoted to bullying.) It is nice to have the perspectives of two different mothers; it would be interesting to discuss this book with your spouse, seeing how your own parenting style compares and contrasts to that of both authors.