Ask any parent what they want most for their child, and most likely you''ll hear the same answer again and again: to see their children grow up into happy, healthy adults whose lives count for something. But ask those same parents what they''re doing to equip their children for such a life and you''ll get embarrassed silence.

Finally, parents can find help for this crucial task in a book that is encouraging, easy to grasp, and filled with great practical suggestions. In Launching Your Kids for Life, Bob and Cheryl Reccord liken the job of equipping your children for success in life to the procedure that NASA undertakes to prepare for a shuttle launch. The Reccords, along with their friends Dr. Tommy Holloway, past director of the NASA Space Program and three-time shuttle astronaut David Leetsma point out that just as the shuttle must break through the Earth''s gravitational force into space, so too must children break free into adulthood. But our children can''t do it on their own. They need our help. They need us to equip them, to prepare them, to help them discover their life''s mission, and to celebrate the milestones along the way. If we learn how to do this, then we can be sure that they can fly anywhere their wings will take them.

Ask any parent what they want most for their child, and most likely you''ll hear the same answer again and again: to see their children grow up into happy, healthy adults whose lives count for something. But ask those same parents what they''re doing to equip their children for such a life and you''ll get embarrassed silence.

Finally, parents can find help for this crucial task in a book that is encouraging, easy to grasp, and filled with great practical suggestions. In Launching Your Kids for Life, Bob and Cheryl Reccord liken the job of equipping your children for success in life to the procedure that NASA undertakes to prepare for a shuttle launch. The Reccords, along with their friends Dr. Tommy Holloway, past director of the NASA Space Program and three-time shuttle astronaut David Leetsma point out that just as the shuttle must break through the Earth''s gravitational force into space, so too must children break free into adulthood. But our children can''t do it on their own. They need our help. They need us to equip them, to prepare them, to help them discover their life''s mission, and to celebrate the milestones along the way. If we learn how to do this, then we can be sure that they can fly anywhere their wings will take them.