Can you recommend a Bible that my son might be interested in and actually use?

My first two children were girls. I had a wonderful time and spent many hours reading Bible stories to my first daughter which, for the most part she attentively listen to.

The things I learned with my first helped me get a head start with my second daughter. It was a different experience because she’s a different girl but for the most part it was easy to stay on the track that I started on with my first. This Christian dad was in the groove.

Then my son was born and in his younger years much of what I had learned worked but when he got a little older it was like starting all over. Many times what had worked wonderfully with the girls did not even register with my boy. So I pressed into prayer asking God for help and wisdom and slowly but surely the seemingly obvious started to sink in. So here is some sound parenting advice, boys and girls are different and they learn differently.

In our Bible times together I started to be a bit more aggressive and animated in my story telling, like an wonderfully energetic Sunday School teacher. I hit the story highlights and I put more focus on people and events in the Bible and Bible stories that boys in general would enjoy. It worked, my son’s interest in the Bible and our Bible times took a leap forward.

It had been simple finding Bibles and Bible books that my daughters enjoyed but the stuff that was working with my boy was what I was having to make up as I went.

As a Christian author I asked the question, “Where are the Bibles and Bible books designed specifically to capture the imagination and attention of Christian boys?”

When I started talking to the publishers I got the answer to my question from the publishing experts. Books for boys and Bibles for boys do not sell because most boys do not read and therefore publishers do not publish them.

Fortunately after much discussion and planning, the people at Zondervan agreed that there was a need for Bibles and Bible books for Boys and that what we needed to do was design them differently so boys would want to read them. Which was exactly what I had done with my son.

The Luke 2:52 Boys series was born out of those discussions. The Boy’s Bible and the nonfiction book series have beaten all sales expectations and have hundreds of thousands of boys reading their Bibles and about their Bibles. The letters and reviews we get confirm over and over again that there was a huge need and that these Christian resources are getting boys excited about their Bibles.

If you are looking to get your son reading his Bible and growing in his faith you may still have to be more animated but at least there are resources available now to help.

I highly recommend these books and Bibles for boys.

(Note – we haven’t written a Bible Storybook for young boys yet, however below the age of eight the need is less pronounced. For recommendations see my blog on Bible Storybooks in this category.)

The Luke 2:52 Boy’s Bible (Ages 8 – 12)

The Luke 2:52 Boy’s Nonfiction Bible series (Ages 8 – 12)

(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Bible Teacher)

How can I know which children’s bible is the best one for my child? (ages 8-12)

Before I make some suggestions, let me briefly blog about why getting the right Bible for your children in this age group is so incredibly important.
Once we are Christians, the foundation for building our relationship with God is regular time in the Bible and in prayer. Yet how many of us as adults, struggle with this?

My daughter was seventeen when she told me that her and several Christian friends were talking about their time with God and most of them said that they had a real struggle with it. My daughter went on to say that she had not realized that people struggled with this.

If our children are guided through the process of developing a relationship with God progressively, from sitting on our knee right up to doing it on their own, they establish a habit and a relationship that is easy to maintain and difficult to walk away from.

Many Christian parents (dad, mom or both together) do a great job of this in the early years when we are reading Bible Stories and saying prayers with our children. Where the process usually falls apart is when our children become too old for Bible Stories and too old for Sunday School.

Many of us flounder to find a whole text children’s Bible for our children and kind of hope that they will read it and pray on their own.

Unfortunately we find out really quickly that this approach does not work. It is kind of like saying to your child, “Well you’ve had a few years at school now. You know how to learn, so just get on the internet and work your way through to graduation on your own.”

Our children must be taught, trained, encouraged to crawl, walk and then run in every area of learning.
So getting down to it, here are some things to remember and some practical Christian parenting advice on how to move your child from Bible Stories to reading a whole text Bible on their own.

• Include your child in on the growth process. When my children were quite young, I started to tell them regularly that our bedtime devotions together was their time with God. I was helping them learn so that they could eventually do it on their own. The children understood that the activity was about them learning, (we were not just doing it to get it done) and that it was their time to connect with God.  Eventually they would be responsible for this discipline on their own and for the rest of their lives. It is much easier to teach when the student understands the goal and the process. Talk with your child about graduating from Bible Story time and agree on the timing and process.
• Don’t just leave them on their own. As with any transition in life, the more gradual it is the more comfortable and successful the transition will be. You and your child may decide to continue reading and praying together for a while but with a full text Bible instead of a Bible storybook. (This is a good time for you to help them better understand how their Bible is put together and how to read it.) You may want to choose a certain book like one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) or Genesis and read through it together. Then they could read one on their own and alternate. You could choose to read together and have them say their prayers on their own or vice versa. When they are ready to do it all on their own, help them set aside a regular time for doing it. Help them be consistent and follow up with them to make sure they have done it. Kind of like you do to make sure they are brushing their teeth. (Remember encouragement is more effective then harassing.) Be aware that if you have had quality time together at night for a while, some kids may be sensitive to losing that. Continue to put some time aside to talk with them and spend a little time together before sending them off to have their time with God. One of the things you can talk about is your time with God, what you are reading and/or what Bible study you are doing and what you are praying about. Ask what you can pray for them and tell them what they can pray for you.
• Set them up with the Bible and materials that will help them be successful. First and foremost choose a modern translation that your child will understand. Next a good strategy is to choose a companion book or devotional guide that will help your child get into and go through their Bible. This helps a ton because picking up the devotional book first is less intimidating and a little more appealing. Be careful though that you choose a book that directs them to their Bibles or the book is the only thing that will get read. When you first get the book and the Bible, look through them together and talk to your child about how to use the materials. Finally once you have narrowed your choices down to a few good Bibles and their companion books, let your child in on the decision. When we start to transfer any responsibility to our children, we should also start to transfer the right to make related decisions.

Here are some Bibles and companion books that I recommend for helping you and your child make the transfer successfully. They are all best selling Christian resources that work well together and are designed for this age group.

The ‘Kids Quest Bible’ works well with the ‘Amazing Questions Kids Ask About…’ series.

If you have boys I would highly recommend ‘The 2:52 Boys Bible’ along with the books from the 2:52 nonfiction series.

If you already have a Bible for your child or they choose another, I would recommend Focus On The Family’s ‘My Time With God, 150 Ways To Start Your Own Quiet Time.’

(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Bible Teacher)