Let Them Be Kids Book Study and Review

Let Them be Kids Book Study and review by the Elf on 6/16/20
This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog. We were given a copy of this book to review by the publisher, the opinions expressed are our own.

Know Before You Read Let Them Be Kids:

Book: Let Them Be Kids: Adventure, Boredom, and Other Gifts Kids Need
Author: Jessica Smartt
Pages: 256
Published: June 6th, 2020
Age Suggestion: Anyone who is in charge of or loves a child
Warnings: No warnings, but we will acknowledge that she does discuss keeping your children safe sexually, including pornography. And faith plays a strong roll in the book. You can absolutely still read it and get a lot from it if you skip the faith sections though.

Let Them Be Kids Book, Let Them Be Kids Book Review

Quick Summary:
Let Them Be Kids helps moms feel confident and equipped with ways to provide a safe, healthy, Christ-centered childhood for their children. It leads them to conquer fear and find truth that transforms them and their families as it reminds them how to enjoy and cherish the special memory-making moments of building family values together. Part story and part guidebook, every chapter includes doable strategies and encouragement for the journey.”

You Can Find the Book: Let Them Be Kids Here!

Let Them Be Kids Book Review:

We were given a copy of this book to review by the publisher. Our opinions are our own.

Why You Should Read It:

I’m very hesitant picking up parenting books- especially new ones. There is so much isolation and judgement in parenting today. We’ve replaced our villages with independent storage silos where we are all on our own. EG: With my first child- starting solids was a nightmare. Any google search will show you that there are 8,000 different ways to do it and all of them are the best way.

What I loved about this book was that the tools and suggestions were practical, but the advice was not judgmental. It was very ‘This is what has worked for me and families I love, here are the tools if you want to use them too!’ instead of ‘This is the only one right way it should be done!’. Which was a great relief. Sure it was convicting, but it also was just as encouraging as sitting down with a friend who says ‘Girl, I’ve been there! You’re doing just fine! Keep going!’

My favorite things about it:

I was convicted about several things (hello using my phone to pacify discomfort for ME and my kids). But I am also really excited about introducing several things to my family. Like a mission statement, some intentional boredom (possible with toddlers? Turns out it is!) and taking some things away (quarantine made me think about it, this book brought it home for me!).

She shares stories from her childhood and asks you to remember your happiest childhood memories too. In sharing her own moments of fun, and of mom jealousy, she helped put me at ease and made it feel more like I was peeking in on a friends parenting playbook. I picked up the book, started highlighting on page two and didn’t stop until the end. Can I tell you my number one favorite thing? (ok- 2 things!) 1- She encourages and normalizes counseling 2- The tools are practical. The stories are so relatable, the tools are so valuable, and the mom encouragement is so needed!

Let them be kids book study and review, let them be kids book quotes, let them be kids quote

Let Them Be Kids Book Study Discussion Questions:

We’ve broken this up into 4 sections for discussion with 3 questions per section to make it book study friendly.

If you’re reading it by yourself I encourage you to evaluate each chapter and pick 4. From those chapters, make 5 action steps that you can take this summer with your kids.

Session 1: Ch. 1-3 Let Them Be Kids Book Study

A) What is your favorite memory that was created from childhood boredom?
B) What is your favorite activity to unplug and soak up some white space? What about your kids? Have you made room for this?
C) How can you create safe boredom this week?

Session 2: Ch. 4-6 Let Them Be Kids Book Study

A) What’s your favorite awkward memory from childhood? How can we make space for our kids to experience this practically?
B) Do you have family rules about technology, extracurricular activities? Share what they are, remember to be encouraging to each other and listen well.
C) How can we surround our kids with friends and adults who are encouraging and uplifting? How can we be that for someone else?

Session 3: Ch. 7-8 Let Them Be Kids Book Study

A) One of the hardest things about parenting is watching our kids hurt and fail. Share a time when you’ve been able to help walk your kiddo through a failure that helped them grow.
B) What manners are most important to you and your family? One manner that you value most in your everyday life or work environment?
C) The dog sitting story was painfully relevant. What was your first job?

Session 4: Ch. 9-11 Let Them Be Kids Book Study

A) How are you protecting your kids from pornography? What resources have been really useful to you?
B) What adult figures (family or other) do you trust to pour into your kids? How are you pouring into others?
C) What’s your favorite God moment with your kids?

Let them be kids quotes, let them be kids book study, let them be kids book review

I’ve heard it said that parenting is not clearing a path for your kids into the world, but walking hand in hand beside them as they learn to beat their own path. Let Them Be Kids takes us by the hand and reminds us that parenting is hard but good work- and that we’re exactly what our kids need. Tension and struggle aren’t things to quickly be pushed away- they’re gifts. So is exploring and imagining together. The book gives us practical tools to keep them bored, adventurous and innocent as long as we can gift that to them.

What Next?:

You can find the author, Jessica Smartt, here on her website, facebook, and instagram.

Let Them Be Kids Blog Tour With Author Jessica Smartt

-If you enjoyed this post, please check out one of our others:
~ 6 Steps Towards Diversity with 0-5 yr. olds
~ Lessons from Brene Brown’s Netflix Special– The Call To Courage
~ 2020 Summer Reading Challenges for Your Family
~ 25 Easy Art Projects with only 5 Supplies
~ Our most recent devotional- In The Footsteps of Flour and Jesus
~ Life Lessons from the New Little Women Movie.

-And a special thank you to Just Read Tours for organizing this amazing Blog Tour- you can find more stops on the tour here.

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog uses affiliate links, we only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. This allows us to keep writing discussion questions and telling ridiculous dad jokes. Find our other reviews with discussion questions here. Our posts about faith here. And our posts about family stuff here.

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