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.) 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
Four Ways to Help Your Child Love the Church More by Stephen Kneale, buildingjerusalem.blog. “Just as always speaking negatively of the church will extinguish joy pretty quickly, refusing to acknowledge objectively difficult or less than excellent things is hard too.”
Helping teenagers navigate complicated family dynamics through the holidays by Kara Powell, Fuller Youth Institute. “God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves.”
Why We Must Teach Kids Safety Skills by Julie Lowe, ccef.org. “As a parent, my ultimate goal for my children is not to keep them safe (though it is a goal); rather, it is that my children would know the ways of God and walk in truth. Walking by faith and knowing good from evil will be their shield, and I believe that safety skills will be the fruit of teaching our children the ways of the Lord.”
How to Talk with Your Kids About Transgender Ideology by Josh Glaser and Paula Rinehart, TGC. “If a girl loves to climb trees and a boy loves to dance, it doesn’t mean the girl should become a boy or vice versa. It simply means you’re a girl who climbs trees, and you’re a boy who loves to dance. As Nancy Pearcey suggests, reject the stereotypes, not your body.”
3 Parenting Myths We Are All Tempted To Believe by Tim Challies, challies.com. “While we must insist that the dominant focus of parenting is parents discipling their children, it still takes a church to raise a child. Parents and their children equally need the local church.”
Youth Culture
Protecting Your Teenagers Online by Kristopher Shaal, Growing Fathers. “We have a pool in our backyard. We also have young children. What steps do we take to protect them? 1. A fence 2. Swim lessons 3. Supervision. All three levels of protection are necessary.”
A Major Blow to Parental Rights by Josh Hershberger, wng.org. “ If a child claims that he or she is transgender and Christian parents decline to affirm that child’s transgender ideology, the state can now use this case as a precedent to remove that child from the parents’ custody, bar the parents from speaking to their child about their religious beliefs, and place the child in a home that contradicts the parents’ deeply held religious beliefs.”
The Gospel in Wingfeather by Thomas M. Ward, plough.com. “Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga is no Lord of the Rings, but children’s literature hasn’t achieved such theological depth since the Chronicles of Narnia.”
More Tech, Less Teen Happiness by Jenet Erickson, IFStudies.org. “Who are these at-risk youth? The largest study on social media use to date found that girls between the ages of 11-13 appeared to be especially vulnerable to negative impacts as well as boys ages 14-15. The “culture of performativity” inherent to social media appears to exacerbate the normal insecurities of youth, undermining an already fragile sense of self.”
To Share With Your Teenager
Homesick College Student, the Lord Sees You by Ashley Kim ,TGC. “We often don’t realize how gracious God has been to us until circumstances change. The very feeling of homesickness―no matter how painful―taught me to be thankful that I have a good home worth missing.”
On Rooted
Prayers for a Teenager Struggling with Pornography by Joey Turner
Prayers for a Teenager Struggling to Make Friends by Tracey Rector
Prayers for a Teenager Struggling With Anger by Carolyn Lankford
Prayers for a Teenager Who Desires to be ‘Cool’ by Justin Talbert
Prayers for a Teenager (Or Parent) Struggling with Drugs or Alcohol by Melissa Powell
Prayer for a Teenager Struggling with Anxiety by Logan Murphy
Prayers for a Teenager Who is Struggling With Depression by Liz Edrington
Our Kids Are Not Upgraded Versions of Ourselves by Steve Eatmon
Biblical Wisdom for Teenagers’ Eating Habits by Melissa Powell