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Ages 9-12 (Preteen/Tween)

How to Influence Your Teen

These two examples show how an influencing parent should respond to a teen.

Dad giving a pep talk to his upset teen athlete

Dads and Sports

Sports have so much to teach us about what it means to live well. Yes, good character can be taught in Sunday school, but it is “practiced” on the court, diamond, gridiron and track. Virtues such as tenacity, perseverance, fairness, integrity and responsibility can be developed and strengthened as surely as the muscles and skills …

Educating Churches

Educating Churches

Helping churches include special needs ministry

Teens and Smartphones

Teens and Cell Phones

A Wireless New World My husband is a college student. Since he’s about a decade older than the average freshman, he has an interesting combination of insider and outsider perspectives on campus life. One phenomenon he finds fascinating is walking from one class to another and watching groups of people walking and talking. But not …

Loving Your Teen Through Life’s Seasons

Recognizing your teen’s seasons of life and how to support them

A father talks with his son after a challenging time

Unique Challenges

Children who are adopted when they’re older or who have more complicated histories are not likely to respond well to some traditional discipline methods.

Close up of angry young boy's face

Managing Tween Anger

Help your tween grow into a thoughtful young adult by prioritizing your relationship rather than simply listing rules.

Staying On Top of Your Teen’s Technology

Bewildered by instant messaging, iPods, online social networking, and other technology your teen is using? This article series aims to help you better understand how you as a parent can relate to your kids technologically, while giving good guidance spiritually.

Young girl listening to her mom

Healthy Discipline for Adopted Children

When you discipline your adopted child, you need to consider her chronological age as well as her emotional age.

What is Beauty

What is Beauty?

What really is beauty? Depending on who (or more specifically where) you ask, you’ll get a different answer. Train your kids to look in the right places for beauty.

A Tool for Telling a Child’s Life Story

Telling the story should not be a one-time event but an ongoing process as the child grows.

Equipping Your Teen with Character

Even teens and tweens learn more by example than by teaching. Modeling proper virtues for your children is important.

Intentionally Focusing on Your Teen

We can engage our teens by caring about what matters to them.

Sad child sitting alone on wall outdoors

When Children Have Been Abused

Keys for offering the healing experience of meeting your adopted child’s needs, if they’ve been abused.

Baby on the phone and laptop - growing up too fast

Growing Up Too Fast

Before she was a teenager, Chelsea* had a cell phone. She also had her own bedroom complete with a TV and a computer with Internet access. As she continued growing up into a young teen, she made regular salon visits and had an artificial tan that made her look much older than she was. By …

Young boy sitting on the floor crying

Disciplining Adopted Children

Understanding the reasons for your child’s behavior and responses is important, but the truth is that some adoptive parents may never know the full extent of their child’s underlying problems for a number of reasons.

Close up of a young girl's face

Your Child’s Adoption Life Story

Why children who have been adopted need to know their story — and how to tell it

children watch media and entertainment

The Influence of Media

the power of today’s media and entertainment to negatively sway human behavior should be a cause of concern.

Puberty: The ‘Page’ Stage

Help your son make sense of the confusion puberty can cause.

Father tries to console crying teen daughter

Tools for Listening to Your Teen

How to really hear your teen and encourage your teen to open up to you