This link was clicked on the most in my post from Monday.
Eight trends anyone working with children and teens must know.
Here are some things that stand out to me:
1. Narcissism
It’s a great big fancy word for being selfish; and it’s rampant. Parents, youth workers, children’s workers – do whatever you can to blow up the value that the most important person in these kids’ lives is themselves. Help them serve. Help them pray for others. Show them others’ problems and make them think. Reinforce wonderful qualities about children and youth that have nothing to do with how they look or what they have. Bust this disease!
2. Over-Sexualization
Are we always on guard? Do we as parents and children’s workers . . .
- ask about computer use?
- change the channel when inappropriate commercials come on?
- guard against comments in group settings that border on innuendo?
- set a good example of dress by what we wear?
We cannot under-estimate how sexualized this culture is. I could tell lots of horrible stories. The bottom line is that the time to plant the right values is at younger ages, not older.
3. Don’t over-parent (or over-protect or over-praise)
Either of the first two could easily lead us to freak out. We must pray for our children as much as possible, and teach lessons when appropriate. Always harping, always teaching, always praising can be suffocating, so I’d suggest lots of prayer and conversation.
Have a great weekend everyone. Be challenged!