Rooted Parent Top Ten of July 2024

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

The Disney Princess Whose Heart Isn’t Worth Following by Samuel James, Digital Liturgies. This is an excellent read, even if you don’t plan to see the movie. “There is freedom in being liberated from the tyranny of my exalted view of myself. There is relief in being welcomed into grace, rather than cheered into self-determination.”

Rites of Passage Can Help Boys Become Men by Mark Perkins, Christianity Today. “Parenting adolescents is stressful because adolescents are quite literally “stress testing” the parental hypothesis. They’re asking, “Is it true? Does it work?” Parental answers no longer suffice, because it is precisely those answers that are being tested.”

Your Child Is Developing a Heart-shaped Worldview by Steve Lambert, TGCCanada. “Our convictions and our worldview are not just formed by the information in our heads, they are formed by the affections of our hearts. If my young daughter has fun celebrating sin, that will likely override the things we have taught her.”

How Hellion Teenagers Sparked Revival in a Small West Virginia Town by Sarah Eckhoff Zylstra, TGC. “The town changed as drug use dropped and church attendance ballooned, Close said. Sins were confessed. Families were restored. And the FCA leader who’d wept over the sins of his high schoolers watched dozens of them come to Christ.”

The Love of the Father by Molly Jane Layton, The Living Church. “God the Father steps in and cleans up the mess that we make of ourselves, children that we are. This redemption flows from his fatherhood.”

The Calling of Motherhood for the Worrisome Mother by Lara D’Entremont, A Faithful Imagination. “The gospel must first penetrate and change our lives and fuel our faith before we can teach it to our children.”

Teen Culture

Leaving Screens Behind: A Review of ‘The Opt-Out Family’ by Dixie Dillon Lane, IfStudies. “…the book functions best as a bridge between digital absorption or addiction and a restored, human-first family and community lifestyle.”

The Impact of Social Media on Adolescent Romantic Relationships, DecidetoCommit.com. “Adolescents are most likely to engage in surveillance of their partner’s online behaviors, also known as creeping. Engaging in monitoring can be actions of requesting a partner’s password and spending an abundance of time on the partner’s social media profiles.”

Parents, Take Note: Survey Shows Teens Need More Support Than They Get by Robin Foster, Us News and World Report. “‘When teenagers come to adults with concerns, I think above everything else, what they’re looking for is for the adult to serve as a steady presence to maintain perspective about what’s happening and help the teenager gain a sense of perspective,’ Damour said. ‘So, when we go with our common instinct to offer advice or guidance or ask questions, I think sometimes that feels to teenagers like we are confirming that the problem is every bit as bad as it feels to them, and it doesn’t have the intended effect.’”

What Is ‘Pebbling’ and Why Are Teens Doing It? by Kristina Behr, Parents.com. “The act of pebbling isn’t new and it’s long been used in the neurodivergent community. It can be a positive way to show affection, particularly to kids who are neurodivergent, as it helps them connect with loved ones in a meaningful but comfortable manner.”