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Excited to review this book by The Five Love Languages author Gary Chapman! Since a majority of my readers are parents or expecting parents, I thought this would be a perfect book to check out for you all. Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Became Parents was cowritten by Gary Chapman and Shannon Warden, released at the end of 2016. This is different than Gary’s numerous Love Language spinoffs and it gives new and expecting parents a taste of what parenting is really like; the good and the bad.

I wish I had read this before we had Cayden. I have to admit, some of the chapters felt like a big “duh” (like children are expensive and change your schedule…yep!), but others really resonated with me. As the book progressed, the chapters got more and more in depth. The book looks at parenting as a whole, not just those first couple years of our children’s lives. This is definitely a parenting book to keep on the shelves for years to come!

Gary and Shannon both share personal testimonies about the lessons they have learned as parents, which give the book an authentic, personal feel. As a counselor myself, like Gary Chapman, I really appreciated the chapters that focused on boundaries, emotional health, and modeling. In my line of work everyday, I see issues that stems from a lack of education surrounding what it takes to parent and raise our children up in such a way that allows them to be emotionally healthy. For more on keeping yourself healthy, read this post on where to buy kratom.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6, ESV

Lastly, I love that each chapter of the book has a “Talking it Over” section which provides thought-provoking questions to answer in regard to the chapters topic. I think this would be a great conversation starter with your spouse or could be used as a prompt to journal your thoughts and feelings about these specific topics in order to process and see growth (I’m a huge advocate for journaling, as you can read about in my post A Call to Journal). I recommend this book for the new and expecting parents in your life, and for yourself if that is that stage you are in! You can find it on Amazon here. Happy reading!

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post, but I was provided a free book through the Moody Publishers Blogger Review program in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. I am also an Amazon affiliate, and will receive a small commission if the Amazon link on this page is used to make your purchase.