Parents

If your kids are like mine, than you know the typical teenage one-word answers “good,” “fine,” and “okay.” Instead of getting frustrated with the lack of communication from my kids, I dive into my youth pastor training and use the same techniques I use when it comes to getting students to open up, good open-ended and follow-up questions. Here is a quick list to help you get started at asking great open-ended and follow-up questions.

You certainly don’t have to do all of these every single day. But if you make it a routine to do two or three of them, the long-term effect will have a significant impact on your kids’ hearts. Here are 6 affirmations for students every morning.

What if you had a plan, some intentionality driving your family this year? This small handout is designed to help you do that. We want you to come up with a plan for your family. But most importantly, a plan that fits who your family is – what you like to do, who you want to be.

Watch any Christmas special, and I guarantee you that a major plotline will revolve around someone “ruining Christmas” for a group of people. We feel such pressure to get it right and to have the “perfect Christmas” experience for ourselves or for our children. But nothing could be further from the true Christian understanding of what Christmas is about.

Some parents start to think that being cool is a necessity for good parenting. A lot of dads and moms try to be their kids’ friends and ensure their kids are never uncomfortable or feel pain. They believe if they’re cool, their kids are going to like them -- and that that’s the definition of good parenting.

Unfortunately, this is setting their kids up for hard lessons and potential failure in the future. Here are four reasons NOT to be the cool parent.

It’s interesting how many questions our kids ask when they’re young. As they become teens, they slowly stop asking, but just because your teens aren’t asking you questions doesn’t mean they don’t have them. There are certain things every teenager needs. Answers to their most pressing questions are among them. And they’re trying to figure out whether you’ll answer.

Our kids feed off our attitudes, energy, and emotions. If we are not taking care of ourselves first, we will likely struggle to fully give our kids our best as a parent. Each of us is wired uniquely requiring different ways we take care of ourselves. However, I believe there are four ingredients all of us should use for parenting self-care…

When we hear the word "initiation," we might think of college fraternities, the military, and difficult physical challenges, but most simply, the act of initiation is to invite someone into a new way of living that will affect his or her future. Parents can actively create moments of initiation that will lead their children towards healthy growth and development.