The Growth of Love: Understanding five essential elements of child development

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.