Join Ed, Andrew, Katrina and Zoe as they discuss life at the 15-18 parenting stage.
15-18s are diverse; they're becoming more than just a product of their family and are still working out who they are. Clearly, the greatest thing that we could want for our children is for them to have faith in Jesus, but this is something we can't generate for them; we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to do that. But that doesn't make us passive - as parents we are called to walk alongside them, model the life of faith and listen to what they're saying.
It can be a challenge to direct them in good paths while also letting them make their own decisions - they are getting close to being adults, so as parents we need to start letting them make their own mistakes. In this age group, parents will be transitioning away from just telling their children to read the Bible, and moving towards letting them decide while modelling a genuine spiritual life. Your children will pick up on how you pray, how you love one another in your marriage, how you deal with disagreements, how you relate to others. Young people are open to ideas, and are open to honest people who respect them and listen to them.
We want to really drive home with our children that we will love them no matter what - regardless of what bad things they may do, we will still love them. They need to know that they can express doubts and ask genuine searching questions; they're growing up in a world that is a lot less black-and-white than the world we grew up in, and it takes courage to accept that a lot of issues are more grey than we might like.
People:
Ed Drew - Director of FIK
Zoe - Teacher and parent
Kat and Andrew - Parents of children around the 15-18s age bracket!
Quote from Kat:
"The generation of that age group are living in a very grey world... I think it's so important that our Christian young people can work that through in a safe environment - they've got to be able to say "How do I know what's right? ...And there's got to be a safe space at home and at church for them to be led through it.'
Purchase our Newest Book:
The new book Meals with Jesus from Faith in Kids in partnership with The Good Book Company can be ordered here (https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/meals-with-jesus).
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch with us at podcast@faithinkids.org. We won't read out your emails on the podcast if you don't want us to, but we'd love to hear your stories and feedback. We would love to speak to some families or share your stories on social media, be brave and get in touch!
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Podcast edited by Rachel Redeemed (https://twitter.com/rachelredeemed)
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As our children shoot up, the challenges grow too, who will they listen to as they work these things out?
Our brand new “Growing Up” Resources are launching on 2 May for parents and churches to use together as we help our children grow up in today’s world, with God’s word as their guide. Head to faithinkids.org for all the details on this excellent series. They’re growing up fast so come on, let’s share God’s good story.