Christian Parenting 101

Lesson 7: Can Teenagers be parented with Christian Principles?

No Hint of Hypocrisy

This is also the time to step up as a spiritual role model. In order to raise a Christian teen, the parents must make the same commitment to God that they would like to see their child make. (1) Don’t allow yourself, and your children, to act differently at home than at church. Instead, actively participate in church and encourage your children to do the same.

Adolescents are searching for their place within life’s framework, and a big part of this framework is their spirituality. The want to commit to something, and sometimes this “something” becomes “anything”. Follow Christ’s example to exercise a positive impact on your child:

• Take a sincere interest in your teen’s spiritual development
  Jesus appreciated each person He came in contact with on an individual basis. He did so, because His father’s business was important to Him. Similarly, when we spend time in the areas of life that are most important to us, yet church attendance, Bible studies, attending baptisms or weddings, or encouraging others through visits or invites into our homes are tagged on only as an afterthought to our schedules, we are sending a message that may strongly dispel what we claim with our mouths. Your teens will see where you spend your time willingly, and where you spend it grudgingly.
• Forget about quality time
  Many a parent gets caught up in the trap of “quality time is much better than quantity time”. Many a parent believes that a bit of quality time spent in the spiritual training of their child will erase the quantity of time s/he went without it. This is a dangerous fallacy. Your faith (as well as the faith of your child) needs a lot of time to develop. This cannot be achieved by a few moments of quality time. The same is true for your marriage and parenting relationships. Neither can be sustained and grow as the result of occasional tidbits of time, no matter how great these times are.
• Become a chauffeur
  Christian teens need other like-minded children to surround them. This means that your teen must be involved in as many church sponsored teen activities as is humanly possible. For you, this means providing transportation to these activities. Most churches offer some kind of teen ministry or program. Find out who does what when and where, and then make sure your child gets to go. This involves youth groups, camps, trips, dinners, any sort of gathering that is properly supervised and sponsored by your church. Don’t rely on others to get your child to attend these events. Instead, become the person others rely upon.
• Become transparent
  Surround yourself with like minded spiritual parents of teens. Be open about your struggles, your hopes, your dreams, and also your fears. Learn from them, and offer what you have learned. Share your joys and also your sorrows.

(1) Matthew 16:24

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