Pure Foundations

As a Christian parent, I know how important it is to help my kids develop a healthy understanding of their bodies, to explain how special marriage is, and to let them know how babies are made. Even though I know how important these topics are, I admit that I don’t like discussing them at all. I am sure I am not the only parent that feels this way.

Because of my reticence, I truly appreciate well-written books that can aide me in conversations with my kids. Jim Burns’s new Pure Foundations books help parents present difficult topics in a straightforward, kid-friendly way. The photographs of children and families are visually appealing, and the writing is direct, but age appropriate and warm at the same time.

God Made Your Body is written for ages 3-5. It explains that God made each of us in a special way—none of us are exactly alike. This leads to the fact that girls and boys are different and have the parts necessary to become mommies and daddies (yes, the book does use correct terminology for these parts). Finally, the book tells that babies come from a mommy and daddy when “they each give one special part of themselves”, and it explains how a baby develops in a mommy’s tummy. The final pages include Psalm 139:13-16 to remind the kids that God has known them since they were growing inside their own mommies, and he formed each one of them in an amazing and wonderful way.

How God Makes Babies is written for ages 6-9, and it focuses more specifically on the differences of the male and female bodies and how babies are made. It also includes an important discussion of appropriate and inappropriate touching. What I appreciate most about the book is its inclusion of God’s plan for our bodies, for families, and for relationships.

While there are parts of God Made Your Body (ages 3-5) that I haven’t discussed with my seven-year-old, I think these are wonderful books to have as part of your family library. Different children mature and ask questions at different times, and these books can help you address these issues as needed. I am thankful that there are authors like Jim Burns presenting this information in a godly context. We need these tools to counteract the barrage of sexual information disseminated by the media!

Be sure to check out How God Makes Babies and How God Makes Babies. I highly recommend them!

Lauren is a wife, a mother of two, and an avid reader. She blogs at Baseballs and Bows. Lauren thanks Bethany House for providing the review copies of these books.