Parenting Made Practical REVIEW

Dating and Courtship can be a controversial topic, but I was more than happy to be able to take a peek at Dating, Courting & Choosing a Mate . . . What Works? by Parenting Made Practical.  I was so happy that it was biblically based and really what I needed at this time in my child's life.  I received the DVD teaching and the accompanying workbook.
There are always so many questions surrounding dating and courtship.  I was introduced to the courtship model many years ago and have wished it for my children.  However, like the DVD teaching states, what exactly does that mean?  What exactly is courting and what should it look like?  The DVD has two sessions on it. Session 1 is Developing Your Dating Philosophy and it runs 50 minutes.  Session 2 is How to Make It Work and it runs 58 minutes.  I was unable to watch the DVD on my laptop (mine's pretty old) but it ran just fine in the DVD player.


The DVD is recommended for parents of children ages 9 and up.  Joey and Carla believe that parents should be prepared to train their children as early as 4th and 5th grade to navigate the field of relationships.  I know we often don't want to think about it that early, but our kids do.  At that age they are hardly mature enough to make sound decisions in the area of relationships.
In Session 1 the Links have some very interesting, and I feel sound, advice in the area of relationships.  They define what they feel the courtship model is and why it is flawed.  I have heard many versions of courtship so I think the way they define it is one way and based on that they suggest an interesting model of dating based on biblical principles that take into account 4 areas.  The 4 areas they discuss include mental, physical, spiritual, and social aspects of relationships.  They define and compare the difference between Cultural and Courtship Dating.  Their model shows how they are both out of balance and show a new perspective of balance in Friendship Dating.
Joey and Carla also discuss the 4 levels of relationships that lead to marriage.  These 4 levels include Potential, Possible, Probable, and Proposal. Each level includes each of the 4 areas of relationship and the depth of the relationship increases as your child and potential mate move through the 4 levels.  Of course, if things seem incompatible in the beginning it never progresses past the first level.  I also like how they stress that the plan is initiated by the couple rather than being dictated by the parents.  They explain very well that if you have an open, trusting relationship with your child that they will have the skills you trained them with (possibly with the teachings from this DVD) to make wise, God-honoring decisions in their relationship plan.  Another plus is that they stress that each "plan" is unique and customized to the couple and their personalities.  No plans will really ever look alike since there are so many variables within each relationship.
In Session 2 they go into MUCH more detail on how the model works.  They look at each of the four areas (mental, physical, spiritual, and  social) and discuss:

• Goals
• What Can Parents Do?
• Suggestions for each of the four levels
• Potential
• Possible
• Probable
• Proposal

There is a lot of information in this session. They also discuss:

• How Teens/Young Adults Know They are Attracted to Someone Enough to Date Him/Her
• How Far Is Too Far?
• How do you know when your young adult is ready to start a Friendship Dating Relationship?
• How to Implement This Teaching
• Why Do We Call this Friendship Dating?

The accompanying workbook follows both sessions of the DVD and has fill-in-the-blanks as you follow along.  There were a couple of discrepancies where the workbook did not match the DVD (omissions and a couple of typos) but all in all, it was very helpful and nice to have in writing to refer to and study.  There are also suggested books in each area for further research and reading.  Testimonies are also included at the end of the workbook.

I personally would recommend Dating, Courting & Choosing a Mate . . . What Works?  Especially if you are already sold on the courtship model.  I really appreciate the scripture references throughout the teaching.  If you are even questioning how you are going to navigate dating and relationships with your children this is a very sound and informative option to consider.

I really like Joey and Carla's philosophy and I am interested in checking out more of their products.  Two others I would like to check out that the Crew is also reviewing are Taming the Lecture Bug and Getting Your Kids to Think and Why Can't I Get My Kids to Behave?

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Be sure to stop by and check out the other reviews on this product and several of their other products that the Crew had the opportunity to review.