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 articles we believe will encourage and equip you as you parent your kids. At the end of the list we have included several of the pieces that ran on Rooted Parent over the 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
Survey: Evangelical Teens Differ From Other Christian Teens by Joe Carter, TGC. “A recurring finding in the survey is that in almost every area of belief and practice, evangelical teens stand apart from other teens.”
School May Be Shaky, But God Is A Sure Foundation by Maggie Combs, Risen Motherhood. “If your kids are struggling with their school situation this year, don’t assume that’s a bad thing. God uses hard circumstances to grow character in your children. Trust his love for them and his infallible plans when your own ability to make a perfect decision feels limited.”
Six Ways to Ruin Your Children by Jeff Robinson, TGC. “I am at my worst as a father when I assume the role of sinless savior.”
Parents, The Little Moments Matter Most by Melissa Edgington, Your Mom Has a Blog. “I have been in the parenting game for quite a few years now. I’ve been bombarded by guilt-inducing articles, by books filled with tips and secrets for raising children. I’ve been told all of the many ways that I can mess this whole endeavor up, and I’ve been punched in the gut more than once by someone’s idea of what this job should look like. But yesterday I stood by a pink casket and heard one of the most encouraging bits of parenting advice I’ve ever received.”
Parents, Waste Time With Your Kids by Craig Thompson, CraigThompson.org. “Many of the most impactful experiences you will have with your kids will not be planned. In those unplanned moments, they will see how you react to failure. In those unplanned moments, they will discover whether you run to Jesus in hard times or run to yourself. In unplanned moments, your kids will learn whether they matter more than your plans or your sense of control.”
Youth Culture
Entering A Teen’s Pop-Culture World Is Never a Waste of Time by Ted Turnau, New Growth Press blog. “If you really want to know what’s going on inside your child’s heart, get into his or her pop cultural world.”
Why ‘Cuties’ Isn’t Just Netflix’s Problem by Hannah Anderson, Christianity Today. “The sexual exploitation of children is a symptom of a larger disease—one that we’re complicit in.”
The kids aren’t all right: COVID-19-fueled stress eating, inequities, lack of fitness expected to boost obesity, experts say by Jayne O’Donnell and Adriana Rodriguez, USA Today. “Denike said the “mental health crisis” that existed before the pandemic has heightened and contributed to an increased number of eating disorder patients.”
My Kid Sold Her Soul to Roblox by Anya Kamenetz, NY Times. “How could I deny her a social outlet in a time when companionship had been taken from her? It would have felt monstrous. But let’s not sit here and pretend I let her do it just for her sake. I let her do it for mine, too.”
To Share With Your Teen
Sex Is Not the Best Part of Life by J.D. Greear, J.D. Greear Ministries. “True joy isn’t found in sexual fulfillment; it’s found in intimacy with him. After all, it is worth remembering that the most joy-filled man ever to walk the face of the earth never had sex.”
Steady As the Seasons Change by Brett McCracken, TGC. “In an unsteady world, the seasons can bring ballast. God’s creation is like that. It’s a steadying, sublime resource for sanity in an insane world—if we can only turn off our devices long enough to avail ourselves of its gifts.”
For the Heart That Is Overwhelmed by Christina Fox, Core Christianity. “The truth is God doesn’t call us to depend upon ourselves; he calls us to trust in him to provide what we need to live for him.”
On Rooted
What Every Parent Needs in 2020 Is What Every Child Needs Too by Anna Nash. “As we find ourselves in the face of unimaginable circumstances and trials, He relates to us as He endured human suffering to the greatest degree possible during His time on earth. There is no place He is calling us to be without first having been there Himself.”
Five Questions to Ask Your Teenager About His or Her Anxiety by David Murray. “ We can’t give the right answers unless we first ask the right questions. But if we ask the right questions, in the right way, at the right time, then we can help our teens (and ourselves) toward peace and joy again.”
Rooted Recommends: Watch The Social Dilemma with Your Family. “One important caution: watching the documentary can be downright frightening. As Christians who trust in an Almighty God who is far more powerful than both the internet and human potential for sin, we remember that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 2:7) Rather than fearing smart phones and social media, Christian parents can exercise discernment, directing their children to wise and age-appropriate engagement with our technological age.”
Letting Go of Being the Perfect Christian Parent by Anna Meade Harris. “Raising your kids in a Christian home does not inoculate them from sin. Neither your parenting nor mine can protect our children completely from the effects of living this side of Eden. The sooner we admit our vulnerability to ourselves, to our friends, and to our children, the sooner we can stop holding ourselves and our kids hostage to unattainable ideals, and lead them instead into the rest and freedom of life with Christ.”
Fathers, Know Where Your Child’s Ultimate Safety Lies by Hewes Hull. “A man’s got to know his limitations. Thankfully, the God who sent his Son to die on the cross for me, my wife and each of my children, knows NO limitations.”
When Normal Disappears: Five Ways Parents Can Cope With the Pandemic’s Uncertainty by Clarissa Moll. “My children and I knew what it felt like to mourn the loss of normalcy; life had enrolled us in a crash course in survival skills already. Maybe we could use what we’d learned about grief to help us survive this pandemic too.”
2020 Political Principles for Teenagers by Luke Paiva. “It is foundational that we never use principles and tactics we would object to someone else using, and we must never adopt principles and tactics that are opposed to the Gospel of Jesus. Every word we speak is a word of discipleship to our children, students, and the watching world.”
The Grace of God and the Love of a Parent by Eva Parker. “…my newfound appreciation for the sacrifices my parents have made not only changed how I viewed them, but it also transformed my relationship with Jesus. My entire childhood, they had been daily models of Christ’s merciful servanthood, and helped me better understand His love in my own life in so many ways. They have loved me in ways both visible and invisible since I was born, and it took me this long to notice.”