Raising Freethinkers : A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief

Praised by "Newsweek" as "a compelling read" and " Library Journal "as "accessible and down-to-earth," Dale McGowan's " Parenting Beyond Belief" offered freethinking parents everywhere a compassionate introduction to raising caring, ethical children without religious guidance. Now, for the more than 40 million people in the United States who identify themselves as nonreligious, "Raising Freethinkers" offers solutions to the unique challenges secular parents face and provides specific answers to common questions, as well as over 100 activities for both parents and their children. This book covers every important topic nonreligious parents need to know to help their children with their own moral and intellectual development, including advice on religious-extended-family issues, death and life, secular celebrations, wondering and questioning, and more. Complete with reviews of books, DVDs, curricula, educational toys, and online resources relevant to each chapter topic, "Raising Freethinkers " helps parents raise their children with confidence. AMACOM Contents 4 Preface 6 Acknowledgments 14 Chapter One: The Inquiring Mind 18 Chapter Two: Living and Teaching Ethics in Your Family 50 Chapter Three: Secular Family, Religious World 84 Chapter Four: The Physical Self 114 Chapter Five: Ingredients of a Life Worth Living 146 Chapter Six: Celebrating Life 170 Chapter Seven: Death and Life 192 Chapter Eight: Finding and Creating Community 220 Chapter Nine: The Grab Bag 250 Appendix I: Recommended Films by Category 270 Appendix II: Lists of Principles 274 Index 280 A 280 B 280 C 281 D 281 E 282 F 282 G 282 H 282 I 283 J 283 K 283 L 283 M 283 N 283 O 284 P 284 R 284 S 285 T 286 U 286 V 286 W 286 Y 286 ISBN-13:,9780814410967 "Dale McGowan's popular and compassionate guide 'Parenting Beyond Belief' was the first comprehensive book to offer a general philosophy of nonreligious parenting. 'Raising freethinkers' is a practical sequel, providing specific answers to common questions and more than 100 activities for parents and their children. 'Raising freethinkers' covers every topic nonreligious parents need to know to help their children with their own moral, intellectual, and emotional development, including sound advice on religious-extended-family issues, death and life, secular celebreations, wondering and questioning, and more"--Page 4 of cover This is by far the best book out there as a resource for non-religious parenting. It is full of practical advice, activities, resources (books, websites, etc). I've read it several times and made my husband read it. I go to it every time I need some reinforcement. This coupled with Parenting Beyond Belief give you pretty much everything you need. Definitely a must-own for non-religious parents. Collects guidelines and advice for secular parenting, providing tips and strategies for addressing such issues as death, sexuality, morality, and religion while encouraging children to think for themselves. A practical, hands-on guide for raising independent, caring kids without religion.