By TARA D. MCKINNEY
A new book about parenting will makes its debut on Friday. Glen C. Griffin has written “It Takes a Parent to Raise a Child” after 30 years of observing and practicing nine keys to parenting.
“We put together a game plan of nine basic principles or keys … if parents will follow these principles, they’ll be more successful with their kids,” Griffin said.
The book emerged from Griffin’s work as a pediatrician and parenting columnist for the Deseret News, and also from his work in parenting workshops and counseling. He said many lessons were learned from mistakes he made with his own children. These mistakes made Griffin more confident in his ability to help others because of his first-hand knowledge. Several stories from his parenting column have made their way into “It Takes a Parent to Raise a Child.”
There is no shortage of how-to books about parenting. What makes this book different is that it is easy to read and contains keys based on eternal principles.
“This is not a lot of psychobabble. It’s real life … a return to time-tested values in the gospel,” said Griffin.
Griffin said he hopes to help people teach their kids that there is a difference between right and wrong and how to tell the difference between the two. According to Griffin, there is a lot of misinformation being fed to children. Griffin said an example of this is the condom myth — that condoms will protect you from sexually transmitted diseases. According to Griffin, the reality is that it is spiritually damaging and medically inefficient for kids to use condoms and birth control pills.
“The book gives parents really good strategies to correct misinformation … parents must become a truth squad to correct misinformation from so-called experts,” Griffin said.
According to Griffin, many parents expect and depend on society to raise their children. If the job falls out of the hands of the parents, children are in grave danger. Parents are forced to compete with the negative influences surrounding their children. Griffin stresses the importance of listening carefully to children before jumping to conclusions.
The book also suggests providing and receiving assistance from other parents. “It Takes a Parent to Raise a Child” provides insight through anecdotes and humor with an emphasis on practicality and non-violent solutions.
Griffin is also a speaker and co-author of the best-seller “Good Fat, Bad Fat.” He is the editor-in-chief of “Marriage and Families: The Journal for Parents, Spouses, and Other Professionals.” Griffin is also a part-time faculty member of the School of Family Life at BYU, a clinical professor at the University of Utah, the coordinator of pediatric education at the Utah Valley Family Practice Residency and a member of the National Advisory Board of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health.
