Welcome to this month’s Rooted Parent Top 10- a list of parenting articles from across the web for the Rooted community. This list represents ten (plus an extra this month!) articles we believe will encourage and equip you as you parent your kids. At the end of the list we have included all of the parenting articles that ran on Rooted last month. If you have an article you’d like to contribute to the next edition of the Top Ten, please email Anna at anna@rootedministry.com.
Gospel- Centered Parenting
5 Ways Dads Can Encourage Their Daughters by William P. Smith, Crossway. “Fathers, you have a tremendous opportunity: to help your daughter see herself in relation to God and to his images and to find her place with both.”
You are Not Enough For Your Kids by Courtney Reissig, TGC. “Raising children isn’t meant to be an exclusively two-parent endeavor. It’s meant to be done in community. My forced separation taught me that I don’t have to be the center of my kids’ universe.”
Hard Truths for Modern Parents by Harriet Connor, TGC. “ The Bible contains good news for parents, but it also confronts us with some hard truths.”
A Lie the World Tells Mothers by Abigail Dodds, crossway.org. “The world tells mothers that they can do it all and have it all, but that they need not give their all.”
When Our Children Are Wounded by Stacy Reoach, desiringgod.org. “As we shepherd them through their difficulties, we can point out the opportunity to become more Christlike: to not repay evil with evil, but with a blessing instead; to see past the hurtful words or actions and look with compassion on another hurting soul; to believe the best about the teacher or coach who treated them harshly; to trust the goodness and faithfulness of God in the midst of a difficult trial.”
Parents,This Is What Your Children Need Most, sermon excerpt from David Platt, radical.net.
In order to withstand the challenges and temptations that the world offers teens as they move out of our home, Platt exhorts parents to give their kids a solid foundation in the Word of God.
Teen Culture
I Love You Without All Your Accomplishments by Carrie Willard, mbird.com. “We spend a lot of time telling our kids that God (and we) love them no matter what they’ve done wrong, and I hope that we’re telling them that God (and we) love them regardless of their lists of achievements.”
Why Are So Many Teen Athletes Struggling With Depression? By Linda Flanagan, theatlantic.com “When high-school sports replicate the training methods and intensity seen at the college level, players feel the toll.”
I’m Fourteen, and I Quit Social Media When I Discovered What Was Posted About Me Online by Sonia Bokhari, fastcompany.com. “Teens get a lot of warnings that we aren’t mature enough to understand that everything we post online is permanent, but parents should also reflect about their use of social media and how it could potentially impact their children’s lives as we become young adults.”
Taking With Teenagers: Substance Abuse by Sissy Goff, raisingboysandgirls.com. “Your teenager needs to know your values, your expectations, and needs to hear regularly who you believe God made them to be…even when they mess up.”
Growing Teenage Depression Calls for Response From the Church by Helen Gibson, factsandtrends.com. “…churches need to make sure people know pastors and leaders are available and willing to pray and partner with those facing mental health issues, just as they would with people facing other kinds of health issues.”
New Resource
Growing With podcast from Fuller Youth Institute. This brand-new podcast from the authors of Sticky Faith will “look at the new territory parents enter when kids reach their mid-to-late teens and emerge into young adulthood.” The podcast accompanies a book, also called Growing With: “Filled with brand-new research and stories from remarkable families nationwide, Growing With will give you three ground-breaking strategies to develop empathy, dive into tough discussions, work towards solutions, and take the next faithful step on a mutual journey of intentional growth that trusts God to transform you and your family.”
And on Rooted
Holy Week Meditations, a series by Joe Gibbes. “This year during Holy Week, we asked our friend, Joe Gibbes, to write daily meditations on this particular time in the life of our Savior. In these meditations, we wanted to offer something to the Rooted community that has no direct practical value in terms of parenting or youth ministry, but instead points our readers straight to the Word of Life as Jesus makes his final march toward the cross on our behalf. We hope this series is deeply edifying, that it would minister to your own soul as we look toward Easter morning.”
Rooted Podcast: Dave Thomas on Adolescent Anxiety by Rooted. “Dave Thomas gives wisdom and comfort to parents, suggesting that perspective and emotional vocabulary can help kids learn to regulate their emotions.”
The Legacy I Hope to Leave My Kids by Katie Polski. “All of us struggle regularly as we seek to love Jesus and pass on His love to the next generation, but God’s grace is sufficient, and His mercies are new every morning.”
What I Wish I’d Known When My Kids Were Younger: Reflections of An Empty Nester by Tracey Rector. “In the intense world of parenting, it’s hard sometimes to imagine a day when your daily life won’t be completely consumed with your children. But an empty nest is still a nest – a place of warmth and security and growth.”
Ask Rooted: What Do You Wish You Could Share With Parenting About Discipling Students At Home? By Rooted. “Discipleship at home means simply entering into your teenager’s spiritual journey with God.”
Rooted Podcast: Ask Alice, On Spring Break and Bathing Suit Season by Alice Churnock. “Rooted Ministry is tremendously excited to announce a new ongoing podcast series, “Ask Alice,” featuring your questions addressed by licensed professional counselor and certified eating disorder specialist Alice Churnock.”
Hope Amidst College Admissions Insanity by Cameron Cole. “Family connection, religious commitments, parental guidance, childhoods, and kids’ mental health are all sacrificed at the altar. Sadly, that dream that nearly all parents embrace when they hold their newborn — the dream of a family life of warmth and fellowship — surrenders to the ultimate demands of the idol.”
Parental Self-Justification and the College Admissions Scandal by Kristen Hatton. “The only way out of this twisted thinking is to find our true identity and justification wrapped up in Jesus. When we know our security in his work and worth for us, when we know we have his smile, we don’t have to have the smartest kids, the best job, or the most beautiful home.”