Introducing Kids to Proverbs

Introducing Kids to Proverbs - Parenting Like HannahPeople often ask the best way to encourage their children to begin reading the Bible independently. The first thing to do is to make sure your child has a Bible that is accurate, but still easy to understand. The best one I have found so far is the NIrV version. It’s written on a third grade reading level, but is a translation and not a paraphrase (which can be very inaccurate in my opinion). Until recently, it only came in covers appropriate for young children, but I noticed the last time I was in the bookstore it now comes in covers for adults and even has a student study version.

Once your child has a Bible he or she can read or understand, it is important to find a reading plan that will keep him or her engaged long enough to develop the habit of daily or at least regular Bible reading. I suggest first time Bible readers avoid starting in Genesis in an attempt to read straight through the Bible. They tend to get bogged down in the genealogies and laws and give up.

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Teaching Kids About “Virtual” Sin

Teaching Kids About "Virtual" Sin - Parenting Like HannahRecently, I was having an email conversation with a woman who works trying to save children and teens from child trafficking. She mentioned something which stopped me in my tracks. She said one of the hardest things she does is trying to convince parents of the dangers of allowing their children to participate in virtual sin. It took me a minute or two to process what she meant.

Virtual sin is when anyone participates in a sin in a virtual environment. In other words, if your child regularly plays a game where part of the game is murdering people, that would be a virtual sin. If the characters are naked or nearly so or participate in some sexual acts with a child’s avatar, the child has participated in virtual pornography. Basically anything one does in the arena of a video game or online that would be sinful in “real” life is a virtual sin.

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The Dark Side of Video Games

The Dark Side of Video Games - Parenting Like HannahThis is not another post telling you your child’s brain is turning into mush because he plays too many video games. It may very well be, but recently I was offered the chance to review a book which taught me something new about online gaming and social media. I may have suspected it on some level, but to confront the harsh reality was unsettling.

SEDUCED: THE GROOMING OF AMERICA’S TEENAGERS by Opal Singleton helps parents and those working with young people learn about a world I dare say most of us have never visited. Singleton is the coordinator for the Riverside County, California Anti Human Trafficking Task Force. What she shares in her book is the result of research and her own involvement with the families and individuals who are and were involved in this world.

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Teaching Kids About Opportunists

Teaching Kids About OpportunistsRecently, I was conducting a workshop for an urban ministry. As I looked around the space, I noticed a white board with the heading “Watch Out For Opportunists”. Under the heading, someone had listed people like drug dealers, shady employers, and several more. I asked someone about the list and they said the list was part of a discussion from Proverbs with older kids.

As I thought about it later, I realized all of our children are exposed to opportunists. The list of opportunists our children may encounter could be slightly different or exactly the same. Jesus told the Apostles as he sent them out to teach, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NIV) In today’s world, I think this verse applies to all Christians as much as it did to the Apostles.

We desperately need to train our children how to recognize and avoid those opportunistic wolves in life. How do we do that though, without making them anxious and untrusting of everyone they meet? What if they become so cautious, they are afraid to serve others and share their faith?

The good news is you can train your kids to be cautious without making them anxious around everyone. The trick is to teach them to observe carefully everyone they meet. If they see these warning signs of an opportunist, they need to be very careful about what they say and do around them. Caution them to check anything someone says against what the Bible says. If the two conclusions are different, teach your kids to not follow the advice of the opportunist.

So what are the qualities of an opportunist? There are probably plenty, but here are some that would be easy for your children to notice:

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Exposing Teens to Fun Christians

Exposing Teens to Fun Christians - Parenting Like HannahWalk into most youth centers.  Listen to the testimonies given by adults. They are often sad stories of consequences from disobeying God. While those stories have a place in youth ministry, often these testimonies are ignored by the very teens for whom they are given.

Teens often feel almost invincible. Of course those adults had problems, they obviously weren’t very bright anyway. Teens know they can “have fun”, disobey a selected few of God’s laws for several years and escape unscathed.

Probe a little deeper and there is actually just a wee bit more to the story. Ask a few more questions and you will often find the teen is terrified of living the obviously dull and boring life that is the fate of every Christian. I mean look at their parents!

What those teens and frankly, I am beginning to think their youth ministers and the vast majority of the people in the Church no longer realize is that you can have the most exciting, fulfilling, adventurous life possible and still keep the “big three” commands of the teen and college years (no getting drunk, using drugs or sex before marriage). In fact, you may even be surprised at the adventures some of the people in your congregation had and are still having. They just don’t talk about it in church.

Start asking people at church about some of the adventures they have had in their lives. Ask them if they had to sin to have those adventures. If not, invite them to share their stories with your teens and possibly the teens in your church. Make it as clear as you can that it is absolutely possible to have a ton of fun (with none of those nasty consequences) and obey God at the same time.

Changing your child’s world view of the ability of Christians to have fun and still be godly, may just increase the likelihood of them doing the same themselves. I think that’s a legacy any family and any church would love to have!