Rooted Parent Top Ten October 2025

Welcome to the Rooted Parent Top Ten, a curated list of resources from across the web that we believe will be helpful to parents raising teenagers. Here you’ll find articles, podcasts, and videos to support you in gospel-centered discipleship and interpreting youth culture. While most are gospel focused, others are included because they include a message of common grace. (The opinions presented in these articles do not necessarily reflect the position of Rooted Ministry.) At the end, you’ll find Rooted resources compiled from the last month’s new offerings. We hope this resource is helpful!

Gospel- Centered Parenting

Sing of His Goodness- Ways My Children Point Me to God’s Astonishing Kindness & Care by Vanessa Doughty, fieldsandvalleys.substack.com. “ I don’t usually “fall apart” in front of people. I’ve always been someone who puts on a brave face in public. I never want anyone to see what a mess I truly am inside.”

The Mother I Meant to Be by Staci Astin, staciastin.com. “I want to go back to when my list of regrets wasn’t quite so long and I didn’t have a ready answer for the things I wish I’d done differently.”

Parenting an Autistic Child in 2025 by Amy Mantravadi, Mere Orthodoxy. Mantravadi offers important perspective every member of the body of Christ needs to hear. “If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a megacity to raise a child with special needs. Yet, the cost is often too high for even the village to help.”

3 Misconceptions Your Kids Might Have About Suffering by Beth Broom, Crossway. “Our children need to learn that while obedience is important and leads to thriving, it doesn’t shield us from suffering. If a child understands this, he is less likely to blame or turn away from God when suffering comes.”

Children Are Born Believers by Griffin Gooch, Christianity Today. “…none of this research suggests that kids are born with a salvific comprehension of the Judeo-Christian YHWH, the Father of Jesus from whom the Spirit proceeds (John 15:26). It simply demonstrates that we’re not born atheists—at least, not functional atheists.”

Answering Kids’ Hardest Questions: “What If I Keep Failing at Something No Matter How Hard I Try? By Kathryn Butler, Crossway. “…while the world pushes us to constantly do more with our own hands, we actually know from Scripture that we most magnify Christ’s power in our weakness.”

Youth Culture

Let Kids Read Dangerous Stories: 3 Thoughts On The Rise Of Cozy Fiction by Chloe Ann, The Radical Reader. “Dangerous stories show that love comes with a price, that mercy requires someone else who pays the debt, and that evil will one day be eradicated.”

Instagram Announces Major New Restrictions by Ben Kelly, Newsweek. “The new rules automatically place all users under 18 into a revised “13+” content setting. Teens in this setting will primarily see content comparable to what’s allowed in a PG-13 movie, with restrictions on posts featuring strong language, risky stunts, depictions of drug use, or other potentially harmful behaviors.”

To Discuss With Your Teenager

Does Appearance Matter to Christians? by Tanner Kay Swanson, Desiring God. ““How you look doesn’t matter,” the saying goes. While the words capture some truth, they also lack a resurrected vision of appearance.”

Shame As the Vicious Trap of Sexual Sin by Brad Hambrick. This article has a vivid illustration that might ease some awkwardness in conversations about pornography with your child.