Mother Culture: Discipline

Habits & Courtesy to Ease Your Burden

Parenting Toward the Kingdom: Orthodox Christian Principles of Child-Rearing by Philip Mamalakis, PhD

You know it's going to be a good parenting book when it starts off with the basic philosophy of the conception of a person, made in the image of God. What's so remarkable about this book is that instead of starting with identifying problems in your children (children are persons, not problems, after all!) or scripts to follow in given situations, it deals with the parent's heart and how to treat your children as icons of Christ, neither damaging nor neglecting them. It's also full of anecdotes from the author's own dealings with his seven children as well as his clinical patients, so that the ideas are clothed in story and stick with you. This one gets five stars from one of our committee members who loves to read parenting books - she says this is the only one you need!

You can listen to excerpts from the audiobook for free here.

Walking in Wonder: Nurturing Christian Virtues in Your Children by Elizabeth White

The author of this book may be a dedicated Montessori teacher, but the ideas she presents here offer things for Charlotte Mason teachers / moms as well. It focuses on helping your children develop virtues and each chapter ends with a list of practices a parent might try to help cultivate habits such as attentiveness and silence.

Raising Them Right: A Saint’s Advice Advice on Raising Children by St. Theophan the Recluse

This book advises parents on raising children, beginning with one’s own spiritual life. Practical advice with the goal in mind: the salvation of our family.

Spiritual Counsels: Family Life, St. Paisios

This book contains letters and advice from St. Paisios of Mount Athos (reposed 1994) to his spiritual children and pilgrims who came to visit him. Beginning with the life of a young adult in discerning the path for marrying, the chapters walk through advice from marrying, having a harmonious family, bearing children, raising children, the value of work, being an adult child, being the parent of an adult child, the parents’ role in the family, and more. A book that can be read straight through or referred to for guidance time after time.

St. Paisios' particular emphasis is on philotimo, the love of what is honorable, and how a person can have philotimo in his life. Often, when reading Charlotte Mason's works, I'll think, "St. Paisios said that!"