Understanding Children Understanding God
by Ronni Lamont
Paperback
Price: £12.99
Publisher:SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)
Published:18 October 2007
ISBN:978-0-281-05820-4
GoodBookStall Review:
Jesus proclaimed “Let the children come to me” so children are important in God’s family. Understanding Children Understanding God works on two levels to help us understand why. Firstly it is an introduction to developmental psychology. Do Sunday School teachers need an understanding of child psychology? Yes and no. This psychological aspect is possibly the weakest part of the book. Children develop at different speeds so to have a strict guide can be less than helpful. Also developmental, or child, psychology is a contentious subject – just think about how often education styles change to suit the newest theory. Even so, the use of developmental psychology can help us take the children in our churches more seriously than is often the case.
Where Understanding Children Understanding God is stronger is as an introduction to the Godly Play scheme. This is a religious education system that can be used in Sunday Schools but can also be used in secular schools, hospitals and other “non religious” situations. If Godly Play has a weakness it is its reliance on a specific style of psychology. But if a church is looking to build its children work, especially reaching out to the community Godly Play is a tool worth considering.
Reviewer: Phelim McIntyre (18/08/08)
Jesus proclaimed “Let the children come to me” so children are important in God’s family. Understanding Children Understanding God works on two levels to help us understand why. Firstly it is an introduction to developmental psychology. Do Sunday School teachers need an understanding of child psychology? Yes and no. This psychological aspect is possibly the weakest part of the book. Children develop at different speeds so to have a strict guide can be less than helpful. Also developmental, or child, psychology is a contentious subject – just think about how often education styles change to suit the newest theory. Even so, the use of developmental psychology can help us take the children in our churches more seriously than is often the case.
Where Understanding Children Understanding God is stronger is as an introduction to the Godly Play scheme. This is a religious education system that can be used in Sunday Schools but can also be used in secular schools, hospitals and other “non religious” situations. If Godly Play has a weakness it is its reliance on a specific style of psychology. But if a church is looking to build its children work, especially reaching out to the community Godly Play is a tool worth considering.
Reviewer: Phelim McIntyre (18/08/08)
