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
XL GRACE: Waiting When Your Son is an Addict by Cole Huffman, mbird.com. “When you love someone in addiction, you often wonder where “bottom” is for them. How far do they have to fall before they’ve had enough? I still listen for the sound of my son falling. But God must be the one to catch him now, and for that I wait.”
Unshockable Parenting by Rebekah Matt, greatandnobletasks.com. “So before you, my Christian friend, say, “My kid would never…”, let me say to you that oh, yes, they most certainly might. The good news is that as a Christian, you are uniquely in a position to prepare for this because of the examples you’ve been given in the persons of God the Father and of your Savior, Jesus Christ.”
The Resilient Mother: How We Bend Without Breaking by Michele Morin, Desiring God. “Good theology also schools resilient moms in the truth that there’s a time to bend and there’s a time to persevere, unbending, in the face of temptation or the lure of false teaching… The Spirit of God travels with us, imparting wisdom for life and assuring us that resilient mothering may wear a different look every day.
Mom, Follow Jesus by Katie Faris, TGC. “I’m embarrassed to admit that as someone walking through sorrow, stress, and isolation, as someone who should have been the last to wish the same on anyone else, I wanted those other moms to feel the way I did. I’d compared myself to them, my story to theirs, and my story came up short.”
Academic ‘Success’ Is Not the Point by Andrea Palpant Dilley,, Christianity Today. “As parents and caretakers, the vision for our kids’ flourishing starts here on earth but extends all the way into eternity. We’re teaching them to govern creation now but also raising them to co-rule with God in the new creation. As we shape their lives, then, we should pay attention to the principles of eschatological education.”
One For the Grandparents
Letters from Grandpa: Ten Things I Have Learned About Conflict by Cory Ishida. “When the pandemic began in 2020, I was concerned about my grandchildren’s spiritual, mental, and emotional well-being because they were sequestered at home. I felt led by the Lord to write daily devotionals for them… I have written almost 880 devotionals since April 2020.”
Youth Culture
Please note there are two articles about TikTok sensation Andrew Tate. What follows is an article that reports on his popularity, and then a gospel-centered response. Reading the two together will help parents have a fuller understanding of the phenomena and how to talk to your kids about Tate.
If your teen is following Andrew Tate on social media, it’s time for a chat, say experts by Michelle Spitzer, yahoo.com “As news of Tate’s legal troubles make international headlines, parents, educators and therapists all over the world are starting to notice the impact the influencer is having on young people, and there’s cause for concern. Educators in England are taking an active role addressing the issue, with lessons being incorporated into some schools to demonstrate how harmful Tate’s views are.”
Young Men Need Better Than Andrew Tate’s Masculinity by Vince Greenwald, TGC. “The best answer to Tate’s counterfeit is showing the real thing to anyone who is falling for the fake. The Bible doesn’t offer strategies and social theories for masculinity; it teaches us that we are embodied creatures, created male and female as part of God’s good design. Too often, our theology of manhood has been reactive, culturally bound, and narrow. I like smoking brisket and watching football, but I don’t see them at the center of a biblical vision of manhood.”
CDC says teen girls are caught in an extreme wave of sadness and violence by Erika Edwards, NBC News. “A new report finds an ‘overwhelming wave of violence and trauma’ and never-before-seen levels of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts among high school students in the U.S.”
Social sickness: Smartphone addictions are metastasizing into a mental health pandemic by Mary Jackson, wng.org. “When it comes to social media use, Murray sees an opportunity for the church. He says teens who seek community and significance on social media often are not experiencing those things in real life. ‘When young people think of church, I’m not sure they always think of joy, purpose, compassion, significance, and people who listen to them,’ Murray said. ‘I’d love to see that change. … Does this not open a huge door for the gospel?’”
On Rooted
The Growing Problem of Perfectionism and the Perfect Solution in Jesus by Kristen Hatton
Keeping Up with the Joneses: The Temptation to Compare by Katie Polski
The Temptation to Control our Children: Serving the Lord’s Portion to our Teens by Melissa Powell
Prayers for the Rebellious Teenager by Jon Gers
Help My Unbelief: Prayers for a Doubting Student by Becky Paynter
Navigating the ‘What If’s?’: Parenting Teenagers Who Struggle with FOBO by Christina Fox
Changing the Parenting Game: Making the Moves That Truly Matter by Angela Tiland
Is Sheltering Your Kids a Bad Thing? What the Bible Says You Need to Protect Your Children by Clarissa Moll
