I'm sure that Ms. Gruzen has the best of intentions behind this book but I'm afraid that is will not be helpful to interfaith couples. First I must object to the term 'Jewish/Christian' as it's inaccurate for the majority of children. Most of us are, and just prefer to be called the religion we practice i.e. Jewish, Cathloic, Mormon, etc. as is our right. Each has a definition that includes those of mixed backgrounds and that can be a definition itself for those who don't have a set faith.

She shys away from the really sticky issues like the questions if grandma believes you're going to Heaven like she is, even if you don't believe in Christ or that the other grandma wont accept you as being Jewish even if you're practicing. Just 'talking about G-d' wont cut it with kids. She also has really young children so she hasn't faced any of their hard questions they'll be sure to ask in the future.

I wont claim that I have any answers either but it is more than just what decorations to use in December. There are better books on the subject out there for couples that tackle these issues with a little more insight.

I found this book to be one of the first I discovered that truly examined the option of raising a child to know and respect BOTH religions of the parents. Up until I read this book I was saddened that all advice I'd read said, "Pick one religion and stick with it..."

This seemed too simplistic It would necessarily exclude one parent from sharing their own childhood faith with their kids in a meaningful way. We intend to raise our own children as Jews, but I also want them to have a sense of respect and knowledge of my own religion.

Now in a completely revised, expanded and updated second edition, Lee Gruzen's Raising Your Jewish/Christian Child: How Interfaith Parents Can Give Children The Best Of Both Their Heritages continues to be an invaluable compendium of keen observation and sound advice for interfaith parenting. All of the problems and challenges confronting a Jewish/Christian family are drawn from hundreds of interviews as well as Gruzen's extensive professional research and personal experience. The issues covered wide range from beginning talking with children about God, and moving on to planning ceremonies, celebrating holidays, relationships with grandparents, developing and sense of self, and more. Raising Your Jewish/Christian Child is enthusiastically recommended and invaluable reading for anyone in an interfaith marriage and seeking to instill values and an appreciation of heritage within the character of their children.

This book reports that the White House distributed a workbook to schools asking children "to draw the world's largest penis, compare white and black penises, and show their parents making love." Gary Wills, a respected journalist, says that Dobson has never been able to substantiate this claim. I guess that William Bennett, who has written the book's introduction, doesn't mind if these kinds of lies are published, but I do.

Let me first say that I am, I think, a decent person. I am, however imperfect or inadequate, a practicing Christian. Thus, just because I disagree with the great morality spew of Mr. Dobson and Mr.(President?)Bauer does not mean that I'm a perverted, pornography peddling, single mother kissing, out of wedlock born and thieving person. I hope you can see the sarcasim. But, yes, I am a normal person!

OK - this book does on occasion make good points. The cultural left all too often over the past 30 years has done some pretty stupid things, yet so has the cultural right. If Dobson and Bauer are so concerned about 'children' then they should do a pragmatic - and not right wing - book on the affects of everything from pornography to unemployment to racism to lack of health care to divorce to the global economy to religious values, etc. Children don't know a darn thing about liberalism vs. conservatism, they only know the values we teach them. Teaching them that gun control is bad and that homosexual control is good just doesn't make sense. Teaching them that tobacco is good and drugs are bad just doesn't make sense. Why can't we embrace moral responsibility on both the left and right? This book sure doesn't.

In fact, I would dare argue that this book occasionally hams it up and demagogues, if not lies, about some issues. I refuse to believe some of the things I read. If they were true, we'd be in Communist 'Mother Russia' now! Also, I refuse to believe that the 'pro-family'(hah!)policies of the Reagan/Bush Administrations actually helped families. What a lie! Also, I find the book's section on the child care debate to be a mockery of what is true and what families need.

Yes, the book does make some good points. The cultural left does occasionally support what is nothing but ugly moral relativism. But so does the right. It's all about their constituences. By getting into the constituency business and out of the family business, Dr. Dobson has done himself - and our country - a huge disservice. I remember my mother, who is a fine Democrat, would always listen to Dr. Dobson's show. In fact, I bet that many of the things she taught me came from Dr. Dobson's sagacious teachings on being a good parent. But what does endorsing Bob Dornan for Congress or the flat tax have to do with my Mom or Dad being good parents? Thus, Dr. Dobson, quite possibly, began his slide into right wing land right here. He shows his love of politics through the book's occasional dishonesty, I am sad to state. As for Mr. Bauer, he has always been into the right wing political circuit.

In ending, it is sad that the distinguished authors have taken a subject, moral decline, and demagogued it. Dr. Dobson could have gotten a good Democrat to write the book with him and written one great and influencal book. Instead, he wrote another book which conservatives can put on their bookshelf next to "Up from Liberalism" by William F. Buckley, "The Conscience of a Conservative" by Goldwater and "Where's the Rest of Me?" by President Reagan(oh yes, let us never forget "The Way Things Oughtta Be" by Rush!). This is a wasted opportunity.

Although Gary Bauer may be extreme at some points, I believe that the views that he and Hobson display are valid. The youth in America are growing up corrupt and there are people who let this go by. Morals need to be instilled into our children so that they will grow up to believe what President Clinton did was wrong, and that should not be tolerated. This book is shocking but definitely a wake-up call for all parents.

Poor Kathie Lee. Her book is designed to show us that she is such a sweet kind loving attentive mother. If you read the book with any degree of attention, you will see that she is a very disturbed woman, and that dear little Cody is well on his way to serial-killerdom.

Kathie Lee seems to be a very involved mother. She is not afraid to discuss Cody's bowel functions in detail. Everything about Cody is cute. Every detail. A must have book!

I'm an adolescent (aka: angry teenager) and after my mum bought this book, I decided it'd be a good idea to see what sorts of useful suggestions these 'parenting teenager' genre books had to offer for desperate ol' mum. Well, I'm not impressed. This book offers, in part, several cookbook situations where (from other reader's post) _defiant_, _rebellious_ teenagers are engaged in heated conversations with their overseers. Almost comically (though, I suppose most psychology has a definite farse element to it), the author points out a series of motives that a teenager will have in certain situations. Militaristically addressed as "Plan A", "Plan B", ..., "Plan N", we are to believe that the Angry Teenager(tm) is cool and calculated--full of alteriour motives and hidden secrets. It sure sounds like a criminal to me. The second distinct greviance I have with this authoritive guide is the conflicting, dual roles that parents are to assume when dealing with the teen. A) Like my fellow book reviewer, the parent is to be a harsh disciplinarian. Stick to the "No," demonstrate one's role as authority figure, and never lose the upper hand. B) As the book's title points out, parents are supposed to _help_ teens grow through it. The second role is as loving, caring, (mothering? sexism uh oh), gentle helper who guides her/his troubled youth during the most difficult years.

With my two greviances pointed out, I'll give some free advice to a prospective reader. Don't buy these books. (That includes other parent/teen guides available.) They will turn you into an analyser and psychologist. This is not the role for a successful parent. Keep a teen-parent relationship simple and responsitory. I think the key word is _reactionary_. I like that word. Why do the model teens in this book always state that they want to "learn by [their] own mistakes and not have [their] parents gloat over [their] failures?" Because they do! Educational professionals agree that hands-on, exploratory learning is a very effective technique for obtaining a mastery of some subject material. All years (not just teen) should be spent this way for ideal growth and development. And after all, this is what this book's title is all about: growth. As a parental reactionary, you always allow the individual (scrap teen) to take control of the situation and accept responsibility. Dictative parenting only brings out ====the defiance! ===

In sum, thumbs down on this book and its genre. Suggestion: talk with your individual and avoid philosophical, psychological looks into the mind of the angry teenager.

I ordered this book hoping for some concrete answers/assistance in helping my angry teen cope with his emotions. This book is filled with stories and examples of other angry teens but offers little in the area of realistic suggetions. Here is another professional who wastes time describing the symptoms and is unsure of the cure except to blame parents for their kids problems, i.e. an angry parent makes an angry teen. I suggest "Parent in Control" by G. Bodenhamer for some real help in dealing with defiant, rebellious teens. Good luck!

I am a grandparent who is again parenting a young teen. I found this book helpful and easy to read. The author has extensive understanding of the teen and his tone is caring. It is not an in depth analysis of why teens are angry. It has, however, some really good insight and advice. I read the review of the teenager and he seems to prove the point of what an angry teen sounds like. Adolescence is a tumultuous time and it is essential that those caring about and for them have some understanding of their feelings. Read it, you will both enjoy it and learn from it. As a matter of fact I will purchase it for our Church Library!

They concept sounded good... a list of tips to help with sleep problems. The book is well organized into 4 age ranges from birth to 6 years. Unfortunately, most of these tips are not very helpful, and a lot of them are not even "Ways to Get Your Child to Sleep". There are plenty of "don't do this..." tips, most of which you should already know unless this is the first childcare book you have ever read. Others are just general facts about sleep. Some of the other tips are just reprints of tips that people posted on the author's website. (Shouldn't you expect more from a doctor than hearsay and anecdotal evidence.) The biggest problem with the book is the redundancy. For example, one tip about fever (don't wake the child to take his temperature) is repeated almost exactly a few pages later. Also, "sing to your child" and "read a story to your child" are both good tips, but "read this specific book...", "read this other book...", "read this exact book..." should not all count as separate tips! Clearly this is just padding to fill out the "365 ways" format. If you need real sleep solutions, ignore this shotgun approach, and seek out a title tailored more toward your specific needs.