At a time when solutions to manage troubled children and teenagers vacillate between liberal and punitive extremes, this book challenges contemporary views of childcare to provide a secure framework for enabling children to develop their full potential as people made in God's image.

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 psychosocial theory, underpinned by biblical understanding and living faith, to develop five essential elements of development.

These are: security in the knowledge they are loved; clear boundaries for behaviour that leave them free to explore; assurance of their worth and significance; inclusion in nurturing communities that enable them to flourish; and an environment with opportunities for creative play, worship and recreation. 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.