Overview

This book affirms the wisdom of the ages that it takes a village to raise a child. In such a village, the ultimate outcome that all villagers share is the growth of love: within each of its children, between children and their family and community, and children and their Creator and the natural world. Dr White takes the reader on a voyage of discovery, laced with stories drawn from a lifetime of personal experience, blended with child development theory and psychotherapy, and a deep knowledge of the Judaeo-Christian faith and scriptures. All this is summarised in a framework that can be shared by all villagers seeking to help the growth of love in their children, whether parents, professionals, or neighbours. Using the five fingers of a hand, the key elements are: security, boundaries, significance, community and creativity. Parenting of children is not restricted to biological relatives: all have a potential part to play in the growth of love. The seeds of love sown in the earliest moments of the life of a child can be nurtured by this rich social compost, set within the rhythms and seasons of the natural world.

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9781916451377

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Reviews

"""There are enormous riches of insight in White's writing... Every page of this book is worth reading - you will nod in recognition, or hold your breath in revelation."" Sir Richard Bowlby - President, Centre for Child Mental Health ""A must-buy book for childcare professionals...'"" David Lane, CBE - Formerly Director of Social Services for Wakefield ""Dr White draws on a lifetime's experience of working alongside children and young people who have known separation and loss. He applies expertise in theology and psycho-social theory, underpinned by biblical understanding and living faith, to develop five essential elements of development. The children's stories make this enjoyable as well as informative. Despite being erudite and far-reaching, this book is very readable. All involved in parenting, teaching or pastoral care of children within and outside the Christian community will gain new insights from it."" Kirsty Saunders - Community Paediatrician, Hertfordshire ""The intellectual and experiential provenance that permeates White's writing might embolden others to question current orthodoxies of care and to assert that there is a place for words like love and God."" Mark Smith - Lecturer, University of Edinburgh ""At one stage, Keith describes Mill Grove as a rock and its meaning only becomes slowly clear during the course of the book. It is fixed and immutable and a place which contains, holds and nurtures, and a place to which people return and are immediately recognised. 'It is', as one old and experienced residential worker once said to me, 'the long distance work that counts', and Mill Grove has provided this in abundance over generations."" Dr Chris Hanvey - Non-executive Director and safeguarding lead, Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, ex. Vice Chair of the Department of Education's Family Fund, ex. Chief Executive of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health ""His style of writing reflects the personal nature of his story and journey and delightfully draws on his vast store of poetry, sociology, anthropology and historical knowledge as well as child development and some biblical insights... The strength of the book lies in its multitude of real life examples of children's lives ..."" Dr Jo-Joy Wright, ChildrenWebmag ""Keith White's recent book, Reflections on Living with Children: A Companion to the Growth of Love paints a picture of the ground that nurtured his earlier book, The Growth of Love: Understanding Five Essential Elements of Child Development. Taken together, the two books set out what Keith has learned about what matters in living with children. They are full of stories of children and adults, of the events that shape their lives, and lead to an analysis of how to create the space in which children may be held and healed. ""The books are inspirational; they are challenging of conventional wisdom and practice; they offer hope. I recommend them unreservedly."" Roger Clough - Professor Emeritus of Social Care, Lancaster University ""White has both depth and humanity to offer the reader in this exploration of child development, not a process to be copied but rather a way of life that allows love to grow."" - Professor Emeritus of Social Care, Lancaster University ""White has both depth and humanity to offer the reader in this exploration of child development, not a process to be copied but rather a way of life that allows love to grow."" Good Bookstall Review"

Author Information

Dr Keith J. White and his wife, Ruth lead Mill Grove, a Christian residential community in the East End of London UK, that has been caring for children who have experienced separation and loss, since 1899. After reading English Language and Literature at Oxford, he did research in residential childcare at Edinburgh University. In Scotland, he was a trainee social worker, before three years in community development. He became a visiting tutor in sociology at Spurgeon's College in 1978. As founder and chair of the Child Theology Movement he has lectured and taught in colleges and seminaries across the world. Since 1997 he has been studying the life and work of Pandita Ramabai, starting with a PhD in 2003 and culminating in the book, Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922): Let the Earth Hear Her Voice! He has played many types of sport, notably badminton, and loves literature, music, mountaineering, sailing, music and chess.

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