The Two Sides of Parenting: Becoming an Intentional Parent Through Challenge and Support

Parenting is a complex, ever-changing challenge, whether you’re dealing with sibling rivalry, arguments, or the need to limit your child’s exposure to the many damaging elements of our culture. Fortunately, all parenting decisions can be divided into two broad categories: challenge and support.

In The Two Sides of Parenting, counselor Jim Wunderle explains how challenge and support apply to raising children. When exercising support, a child receives something—whether it’s a kind word, an activity, or another factor that cultivates a warm relationship.

Challenge parenting requires something from your child, be it obedience, accountability, or accepting limitations. Challenge involves confrontation, but it is vital for setting boundaries.

Individually, neither challenge nor support provides a comprehensive parenting strategy. Both are needed to raise a child in a warm environment with firm, well-established rules and respect. The model of giving and guiding mirrors the teaching methods Christ used with his disciples.

Here, Wunderle presents five methods of support and five challenges common to parenting, each supported by biblical passages and his own experience as a counselor and parent. Based on Wunderle’s groundbreaking Parenting Boot Camp Seminar, The Two Sides of Parenting offers an opportunity to transform your relationship with your child.

Jim Wunderle has been a licensed professional counselor since 1996 and currently runs a private practice in Springdale, Arkansas.

Wunderle's book 101 Sound Bites for Parents is based on his experience as both a counselor and a parent. He is the father of five children and has been married to his wife Jill for thirty-seven years.