Parenting With Purpose & African Wisdom

Parents want to know the secret: how do you take a new-born and grow them into a responsible, godly adult? In reality, there is no “secret”. Raising children successfully takes purposeful passion, focus, and commitment.

In Parenting With Purpose & African Wisdom, Dr Gladys Mwiti provides a relevant, thoughtful presentation on the characteristics of parenting that deliver results. Blending the best of modern psychology, traditional African wisdom, and biblical teaching, Dr Mwiti offers valuable insight and advice on every page.

As you read, you will:

• Walk through twelve characteristics for purposeful parenting
• Learn from Dr Mwiti’s experience and from relevant case studies
• Realize how a partnership between parents and the community can unlock the growth of a child
• Be encouraged to become a parent worthy of imitation

Parenting With Purpose & African Wisdom is not a “recipe for success” in parenting. But as you study the characteristics and principles of purposeful parenting, you can learn how to change your family for generations to come.

There is a need for books on upbringing and parenthood, especially books which do not simply hand out problem-oriented advice. Gladys Mwiti's Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom is a book of this special quality, opens up a wide space for parents and children, and bears all the signs of her professional, scientific, and also human competence. As a European, I was of course excited and curious about what I could learn here from “African Wisdom.” A great deal! Not only the typical proverbs at the beginning of each chapter: the whole book breathes Africa, family, and far-sightedness. That is very good! I will recommend the book in Europe. Looking beyond one's own garden fence is something we need. —Werner May, President of the European Movement for Christian Anthropology, Psychology and Psychotherapy and the Publisher of the free e-Journal “Christian Psychology Around The World”

Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom is one of the best books on parenting I've read. The African wisdom in this book will benefit non-Africans as well as Africans. I was particularly struck by the author's insight on the need for fathers to mentor their sons to become men – the missing Gaaru. That's a message that needs to be heard in the West as well as in Africa. Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom is practical, direct, helpful, compassionate, and biblical. I recommend it most highly. —Larry Stone, former Vice President of Thomas Nelson Publishers, President of Rutledge Hill Press, Editorial Manager of the “Africa Study Bible,” author of “The Story of the Bible,” father, and grandfather, USA

Parenting is getting more challenging every day and both parents and children are losing hope. Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom will instill hope in a unique way. Dr Gladys K. Mwiti has blended the Bible, psychology, and African wisdom to provide guidance in parenting. With these three, there's hope for generations to come. —Mrs Rahab Mwangi, MA Counseling; Director, Chara Care and Counseling

Dr Gladys Mwiti has written a book for all seasons on parenting, an increasingly challenging social phenomenon in contemporary times. A tour de force, Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom is predicated upon expert psychotherapy and family counseling and contains key elements of African wisdom, spiritual integrity, and contextual realities. I strongly endorse the book as an instructive companion for any and all involved in parenting in all its aspects, and highly recommend it as essential reading for parents, teachers, counselors, and spiritual guides seeking to be relevant in parenting matters. —Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, Chancellor, St Paul's University, and Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kenya on Cohesion, Peace and Conflict Resolution

Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom is a most compelling, insightful, and exciting title on parenting grounded in the African context. A must read for all prospective and new parents across generations and cultures. —Prof Margaret Kobia, PhD, CBS, Chairperson, Public Service Commission and Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

Parenting is a discipline in which children find their identity, security, memory, hope, and responsibility. In this light Dr Gladys Mwiti provides thoughtful ideas in Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom, reminding us that each parent should endeavor to do their best while partnering with God in order to pass on lasting legacies. Her extensive experience in counseling parents and their children plus her value-based training in Clinical Psychology make the book a suitable manual for all parents. —The Most Rev Dr Eliud Wabukala, EBS, Archbishop of Kenya & Bishop of All Saints Cathedral Diocese

Gladys Mwiti manages to integrate modern science and traditional wisdom. There is much to be learned from both, not only African readers can profit greatly from the knowledge and experience that has been developed from generation to generation, as from Western scientific knowledge. An important and helpful book for everyone parenting, educating, or teaching children! —Prof Dr Ulrich Giesekus, Psychology and Counseling, Liebenzell International University

Dr Gladys Mwiti covers all the important and key aspects of parenting, giving young mums like myself practical and solid advice on how to tackle the often confusing and sometimes lonely journey of parenting. It's a joy to read. Her ability to weave in African wisdom and spiritual faith adds more gravitas to her words and down-to-earth advice that will become a great reference time after time. If you want to become the best parent possible, read this book! —Neva K. Read, Author; Founder and CEO, Afya Organics Pty Ltd.

Parenting with Purpose and African Wisdom is a very informative, practical, and much-needed resource for parents and all resource persons working with parents and children in today's multifaceted and complex society. The author draws from her extensive professional counseling practice, Christian principles and African traditional childrearing practices. —Amb Prof Ruthie C. Rono, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, United States International University, Africa

We should not be surprised that this tremendously practical, helpful, entertaining, and encouraging book on parenting with purpose is written by a strong Christian wife and mother who was raised in a simple Kenyan village by an amazing mother she describes as illiterate, purposeful, and confident. As a young girl, Gladys Mwiti did her homework by lamplight in a four-room house with a corrugated tin roof and mud walls and has now become an internationally respected and loved author, speaker, psychologist, and CEO. This parenting book is rich in wisdom learned through Scripture, African proverbs, and Gladys's keen observations of what has worked in her life and in that of others. Many books focus only on the day-to-day challenges of parenting. But Gladys shows us how our parenting tactics can flow from our long-term purpose as parents. That purpose is captured in the question, “What kind of person does God, the Creator, desire my child to become?” —Bradford M. Smith, PhD, Lausanne Movement Catalyst for Global Mental Health and Trauma Response, and Director of the Institute for International Care and Counsel, Belhaven University

One of the tragedies of our time is the diminishing emphasis on value systems that define the present and future of any society. If our children represent the future we look forward to, there is need more than ever before to rethink our priorities as parents as far as our children are concerned. Dr Gladys Mwiti captures this obligation in her compelling book on parenting by drawing invaluable wisdom from her Christian, professional, and family background. The church in particular needs to embrace the contextual approach employed by Dr Gladys Mwiti in developing culturally sensitive approaches to ministry that employ the fusion of Christian witness and biblical cultural values. The book is a blessing to not only the Christian reader but to the society at large. —Rev John Maromba, Superintendent Minister, Lavington United Church