Raising kids in an ever-increasing leftist culture is a daunting task. Not only do we have to talk about the birds and the bees with our children, but now we have to talk about the bees and the bees, the birds and the birds, the birds that look like bees, the bees that look like birds, and the bees that look like birds but still have a stinger.
There is simply no avoiding our confusing world as we raise our children in the Twilight Zone (unless, of course, we resort to cave-living). Katy Faust and Stacy Manning set out to equip conservative parents on how to intentionally raise children in their latest book, Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City.
Resisting Left-Wing Education
They both live in the trenches of left-wing Seattle where their children attend public schools. At school, they face backlash for being white, receive failing grades on school assignments containing factual realities, and get reprimanded due to their biblical worldview. Faust and Manning share examples of their rebel conservative kids dismantling flawed, illogical arguments from classroom ideologues (it’s fantastic!).
As tempting as it is to shield our kids from everything possible, we can’t — not when our kids quizzically ask, “Is that a boy or a girl?” at the grocery store or, “Why does Sally have two moms?” at soccer practice.
This book, filled with humor, stories, and tried-and-true parenting tips, equips mothers and fathers with advice on intentionally raising strong, well-equipped warriors instead of feeble-minded, inadequate adults.
Here are three valuable takeaways I learned from this wise parenting guide.
1. Get to Your Kids First
“Better a year too early than five minutes too late,” Faust and Manning advocate. With years of parenting failures and successes, these two moms say to get to your kids before anyone or anything else. As parents, we should be the first people our children go to on all uncomfortable topics. With technology, there’s less we can control, so we should wisely control what we can, where we can.
Waiting until their friends flash pornographic images or spill the bees and birds talk (and everything in between) sets our kids up for failure. Whoever gets to them first will usually be the one they go to when they want more information. With this principle, Faust and Manning caution parents to consider maturity and timeliness, but they embolden parents to talk about every concerning subject before middle school. We must be the ones to talk about all sexual, uncomfortable topics with our children first.
2. The No-Flinch Rule
When our kids ask hard and uncomfortable questions, we cannot react with strong emotion or anger. Faust charges parents to have a “no flinch face,” meaning they must stay cool as cucumbers. When they ask us questions about what Johnny told them on the playground or share with us about someone touching them inappropriately, we cannot overreact or flinch (at least not in front of them). This only pushes children away if they feel we are not a safe place. If we freak out, then they will find someone else or something else (usually the internet) to confide in.
The no-flinch rule builds receptiveness. “Lectures are great, we’re big fans, but the real headway is made when they want to listen to you,” the authors state.
3. Parents Are the Program
We are the “irreplaceable anti-Woke program,” they say. Officers train soldiers. This means we must be experts in everything from gender ideology to abortion to socialism. This takes hard work, and parenting already is not for the faint of heart. But if we’re going to fight for our kids, it’s necessary. Faust and Manning exclaim, “YOU need to have the facts straight.” If we’re ignorant, then it’s on us to put in the hard work and know our stuff.
These rockstar mothers not only provide practical ways to train ourselves and our kids, but they also provide readers with supportive resources such as podcasts, books, and courses. For example, MAVEN, Impact 360 Institute, and Summit Ministries are “camps and programs that inform your kids what to think and why to think it.” For this book, you’ll want a notepad and some highlighters handy as you dig into it.
From Red Harbors to Blue Oceans
As a parent, I get sick to my stomach thinking about the world my son will grow up in, but Faust and Manning provide hope and truth with this robust, educational parenting manual.
These two extraordinary mothers and authors share, “You must always keep foremost in your mind that you’re not raising children to keep in your red-state harbor; you’re training adults to launch into the stormy ocean blue. They need the skills to navigate predator-filled seas and the ability to adjust their bearings in changing social conditions.”
If you’re a concerned and engaged parent, this is the book for you.
