Hello Parents! March is here and hopefully it will bring some warmer weather for us! Spring time means the ramping up of activities and events! We are looking forward to so many things happening in the coming months. Please note on March 27th there will be NO C4 CHARGE Youth in order for us to go and support the AWANA Grand Prix. I am always here to be a resource for you as parents in addition to ministering to your students with my amazing team!
Serving YOUth,
Pastor Bryan
Join us for an exciting evening of Hockey! The WBS Penguins will take on the Providence Bruins. Tickets are $15 and include a 20th Season Penguins hat, a hot dog, chips, and a soda. Meet @ Cross Creek at 6pm if you need a ride.
We will be having two separate events on the same night. This event will run from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. The Girls will be meeting at Bryan and Melissa’s house with the female leaders. The guys will be meeting at the church with Bryan and the male leaders.
When you think of today's teens you might assume that they all belong to the Millennial generation. But while Millennials will continue to influence culture for decades to come, if you are now raising teens, it's likely that they belong to Generation Z, a new and emerging generation of teenagers.
Even though research into Gen Z is in its infancy, two things are consistently agreed upon by students of culture: 1) Gen Z teens are now on the scene, and 2) they, like all previous generations, will carve out their own unique characteristics and have their own distinctive values, attitudes and behaviors.
Researchers have started turning the lens of examination on Gen Z. One recent study by Northeastern University compiled information obtained from surveys of over 1,000 teens 16-19, and this study may be one of the first to attempt to build our understanding of this new generation.
Here are some characteristics of today's teens that were obtained through the study:
- Today's teens are concerned about the costs of going to college and the debt that is often part of the college experience.
- Two in three fear they might not be able to find a job after college.
- Four in ten expect to be self-employed during their adult career.
- More than half believe that anyone should have a right to become a U.S. citizen no matter how they enter the country.
- Half receive their news online. Only two in ten get news from watching television.
- While technology is simply a part of everyday life for teens, two in three (69%) prefer to interact with friends in-person over interacting online, with only 15% preferring online.
- 70% would not use electronic methods (online, phones, texting, etc.) to ask someone out on a date.
Questions for Parents:
1. If your teen is planning on attending college, how can you help prepare her/him to deal with the financial aspects?
2. If your teen expresses concern about accumulating significant debt to attend college, how can you help her/him think through alternatives to amassing debt?
3. How does your teen view today's significant social issues like immigration?
4. What points of tension might you experience with your teen based on their views of these social issues?
5. Does your teen prefer to connect with friends online or in-person? Why?
6. How can you encourage your teen toward more in-person interaction with their friends?
7. How can you influence your teen toward better integration between life issues and their faith?
At some level, most parents fear the possibility that using discipline with their kids might drive them away. Yet the reality is that discipline is needed, and (for most kids) it works.
Many kids aren't mature enough to realize that if their parents don't ground them; if they don't attach consequences to actions that are outside the established boundaries, their parents are not acting in love toward them.
Healthy discipline is a sign that parents love their children. Let's think about God for a moment. The Scriptures tell us that He disciplines us because He loves us: "My child, don't reject the Lord's discipline, and don't be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights." ---Proverbs 3:11-12 (NLT) This passage in Proverbs ties God's discipline to the human discipline a parent provides to his or her child, and this is how we know that discipline (provided in a healthy way) is a demonstration of love.
I believe the healthiest and most effective way to discipline teenagers is to set up consequences for violating boundaries ahead of time. When consequences are set ahead of time, you set up the dynamic where it's not you versus your child, but rather you and your child versus the consequences. For example, if my daughter comes home late, missing her curfew, and I meet her at the door, I can tell her, "I'm so bummed that you missed your curfew and now you have to spend the next three weeks with Mom and me."
I don't have to get angry. I don't have to yell. I don't even have to raise my voice. I can actually be empathetic toward my daughter, because the reality is that we agreed to the consequence ahead of time. It's my daughter and me against the consequence.
No teenager is ever going to go up to a parent and say, "Thank you. Thank you. I love it when you ground me!" But, loving guidelines and strong parental boundaries are a sign of love. Beyond applying consequences, your kids need you to help them process bad decisions and help guide them toward learning from the mistakes they've made. They need your coaching and encouragement to build confidence that they are capable of making good decisions.
Your kids are not going to ask you to ground them or bring more discipline into their lives, but they need it! Discipline is a sign of love! Just make sure you discipline in a reasonable and loving ways!