Dawn Rundman - Little Steps, Big Faith: How the Science of Early Childhood Development Can Help You Grow Your Childs Faith

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Praise for Little Steps, Big Faith

Little Steps, Big Faith beautifully weaves together science, faith, and parenting. A welcome handbook for parents and pastors alike, Rundmans book utilizes her expertise indevelopmental psychology to give scientific rationale to the importance of steeping infants and toddlers in the language and practice of the Christian faith. Accessible, biblical, and practical, Little Steps, Big Faith is the perfect gift for new parents, baptismal sponsors, and anyone wishing to pass on the faith to the next generation.

Justin Lind-Ayres, pastor and author of Is That Poop on My Arm? Parenting While Christian

With Little Steps, Big Faith, Dawn Rundman expertly helps parents fuse their Christian faith with the important milestones of child development. The real-life examples are utterly charming and help prepare the reader for the many surprises of parenting.

Justin Roberts, Grammy Awardnominated songwriter for kids and families, and author of The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

This book is a good fit for parents and caregivers who take seriously the opportunity to invest their faith into the lives of their young ones. Real-life stories and Little Steps cement the concepts so that caregivers can easily see the relationship between their activity and forming faith in their child.

Rev. Dr. Phyllis B. Milton, Hampton, VA

I began my career in early childhood development as a psychology professor at a Lutheran college well known for its teacher education programs. A student in my Infant Development course one fall semester has always stuck with me. As a business major among education majors, and the only man enrolled in my class, Brad stood out most because of his unique rolehe was a new father who chose this elective class to learn more about his baby daughter.

Besides his stories of his newborn, a memorable thing about Brad was his devotion to the University of Tennessee football team. Most weeks that fall he wore a bright orange UT letter jacket and baseball cap, and sometimes he had a team logo t-shirt or jersey on underneath. Since it was football season, he mentioned that on game days, hed watch the UT game while holding his baby girl. He described how shed get worked up during big plays, her arms and legs wiggling with delight because she sensed her dads excitement. When his wife brought their daughter to class so everyone could finally meet her, she was wearing a UT outfit.

One week, Brad and another student arrived several minutes early. As they waited for class to begin, Brad shared that his family members were gathering that Sunday at the universitys chapel, where the campus pastor would baptize his daughter. The other student asked why they chose the universitys chapel for the baptism instead of their home congregation. By now I was listening intently, although I tried to look busy preparing for the upcoming class.

Brad explained that he and his wife werent members of any church at that time. Then he said something I vividly remember over two decades later: We thought wed get her baptized now, and then when she grows up, she can decide.

This new father, clearly devoted to his child, appeared to be doing everything within his power to raise a UT football fan. But when it came to laying the foundations for his daughters faith formation, he was asserting little or no influence. Instead of claiming his position as one of the two people who could most significantly shape his daughters earliest experiences with God, faith, and the church, Brad adopted a wait-and-see perspective. He assumed that his daughter would somehow take up her own explorations of faith without any initiative, support, or enthusiasm from her parents.

I believe Brad held a flawed belief about the guiding forces that could shape his daughters faith. In class, he was taking many positive steps toward being an involved, loving father by learning about her development in ways that helped him parent more effectively. But Brad needed ideas and affirmation to help him connect these early-childhood insights to ways he could nurture the beginnings of her faith, hopefully with the same enthusiasm and commitment he showed on game days.

Ive spent close to three decades teaching parents, church leaders, and educators how to make connections between early childhood development and faith formation. Im convinced that parents of young children can benefit from learning about these intersections, allowing them to confidently embrace parenting practices that support their childrens budding understandings of God, faith, and the world around them. This books purpose is to affirm two points about you, your child, and your childs faith:

• The first three years of life are a remarkable time of development for children, with many critical windows when early experiences can make lasting impressions.
• Shaping a lasting foundation of faith in your child doesnt require you to make sweeping changes to your family lifeonly to open up to seeing how everyday family life can be viewed through a faith lens and then adjusted to incorporate faith moments into these everyday times.

Experts and researchers in the field of early childhood development have studied children in laboratory settings for over a century. For decades, these experts shared their findings with each other in peer-reviewed journals, with some insights making their way into a few best-selling parenting books. But today, the ubiquity of technology gives parents unprecedented access to information, advice, and support relating to their childrens development. As an expectant parent, you can track prenatal development daily or connect regularly with those involved in your adoption process, search online for any parenting topic imaginable, and find the bloggers who offer their own answers to your most burning parenting questions.