Rylie Hineman
CHMN301: Foundations of NextGen Ministry
September 2023
Raising Adults, Getting Kids Ready for the Real-World Assignment
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Introduction
Parenting and its many techniques can spark a heated debate between generations and
communities. With the many different styles of parenting, the new parent can be bombarded with
an onslaught of judgement and self-proclaimed professional parents. The result is confusion and
fear, that often can bleed into the relationship with the child. This makes parenting harder than it
already is, with blaming and accusations on both sides of the story, and in the end means no
growth as humans. Jim Hancock decided in his book that this would not be the case. Examining
generational differences, looking at worldly statistics, and combining his own stories made a
book that is functional and easy to apply to a typical life. This set the bar for future parenting
guides, and gave hope to the parenting generations to come.
Summary
In Raising Adults: A Humane Guide for Parenting in the New World by Jim Hancock,
examines common situations for parents in the 21st century. It also goes deeper by looking at the
child's interaction and response to the new rising situations of the world, and how parents can
grow and develop parenting styles that fit their family. Even the preface poses interesting
questions that everyone, parent or not, has asked. “Here is my hope for all of us—you, me, our
children, our children’s children: Acknowledging that things are seldom as they should be, I hope
we’ll be able to look at things as they are and ask, What Now?”1 The book has four different
sections. The first section is broken down to looking at the perspective of the child and how
every generation has presented its own set of challenges. The second section of the book looks at
the at to opposite stances revolving around one topic and analyzes the implications and results of
1 Jim Hancock, Raising Adults: A Humane Guide for Parenting in the New World (The Tiny Company
Called Me, 2018), 11.
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both sides for the parent. The third section of the book looks at the cultural and worldviews that
both parents and children get daily. The last section has only one part, and looks at how the like
in all things, we work together in unity.
Personal Response
I find this book very interesting. Although I do not have any children, nor do I plan to
have children for some time, I can reflect from my own childhood and from viewing other family
dynamics. Each section had a part that I could relate too, and even though I did not read the
entire book in a week, sections would pop out and I would find myself reading the chapter in its
entirety. As I expressed before, being only a child to parents, I thought this book would be
controversial and side heavily with not shaming parents because nothing humanely is ever their
fault. I was pleasantly surprised to find a neutral standpoint, where I felt like each side was
respectfully represented. All this said, I think this book would make an excellent tool as a preface
for those looking to be, currently are, and seasoned parents.
Conclusion
In conclusion, parenting on its own is a difficult task, and adding the darkness of a torn
world and its demands to the mix makes it seem like parenting is impossible. That said, Jim
Hancock’s book strived to be a guide for all types of parents and succeeded. The book, sectioned
on the most common hurdles, makes for a well-thought out and relatable tool. Although I am not
a parent, I have only positive thoughts about the book, and feel as though it represents both child
and parent well. Overall, I would recommend this book to others for their parenting journey and
might even go as far as to purchase it for my own household and current relationship with my
own parents.
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Bibliography
Hancock, Jim. Raising Adults: A Humane Guide for Parenting in the New World (The Tiny
Company Called Me, 2018).
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