Building a Lifelong Relationship with Your Child

Do you feel like a failure as a parent?

At Focus on the Family, we hear from thousands of parents who do.

Formulaic parenting is a common reason for this. It’s the go-to method for a lot of moms and dads. They believe that parenting ought to be predictable. The right input should guarantee the right outcome. When it doesn’t, they wonder, “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my child?”

A better approach is something called “trust-based relational parenting,” an idea that many say has revolutionized their parenting.

The concept asks, “What’s going on in my child’s heart that they choose the behavior they do?” You have incredible influence over your child, but you can’t control them. You can set boundaries, love them unconditionally, and trust the Lord for the outcome. And through it all, you can maintain a healthy relationship with them.

Joining us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Building a Lifelong Relationship with Your Child,” is Mike Berry, the co-founder of the Honestly Adoption Company which supports, trains, equips, and educates parents to be the best parents they can possibly be for their children.

Mike describes four distinct parenting approaches:

There are patterns to parenting. There are tendencies. But those are different from formulas. Mike shares why parenting is an art that requires us to recognize we can’t control our children’s temperaments and personalities, only influence them.

Hear our program on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or on our free phone app.

Our discussion centers on Mike’s book Winning the Heart of Your Child: Nine Keys to Building a Positive Lifelong Relationship with Your Kids, which is available from Focus for a gift of any amount. For more information, call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459) or visit our website.