Engaging Today's Teens

This is our final episode for season 1. We look forward to returning in 2023.

 I have come to firmly believe that that the primary difference between teens who lived out their faith beyond college and those who didn't is when teens serve alongside their parent.

This doesn't diminish the need to teach and talk about faith with them. But is probably most connected to a parent who is living out their faith and doing it with their teen. The Sum of your life is more valuable than the words you say. Parents and adults -- live out your faith with your teens if you want to see them continue in the faith. 

Teen exposure to pornography has grown significantly. Porn is a dangerous and sleazy imitation of the beautiful union that God designed it to be. 

John Paul II said: “There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person. In short, the problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little.”

Things you can do to prevent access to pornography:

• Phone settings and Parental Controls
  • Iphone has a new Sexting Filter
  • AA type groups for anyone addicted to porn
  • xxxchurch.com has great tools to help

If your teen is on social media they are having a bad experience with it. No one walks away from scrolling social media for 20 minutes and feels better about themselves. Teens often have less of a resiliency than we as adults do to bounce back. 

How should we address this as

1. Be curious

• Are you using your phone a lot?
• Are you looking at things that are healthy

2. Establish boundaries.

• Require or encourage a social media fast

3. Model healthy habits.

• Its easier to hide behind a screen than to live out the vulnerability that living life in person requires.

Slang of the day

• Buy the Dip

If your teen is on social media they are having a bad experience with it. No one walks away from scrolling social media for 20 minutes and feels better about themselves. Teens often have less of a resiliency than we as adults do to bounce back.

How should we address this as

1. Be curious

• Are you using your phone a lot?
• Are you looking at things that are healthy

2. Establish boundaries.

• Require or encourage a social media fast

3. Model healthy habits.

• Its easier to hide behind a screen than to live out the vulnerability that living life in person requires.

Slang of the day

• Buy the Dip

Gratitude cannot coexist with depression. Gratitude can help combat the me-focused culture we live in today. Gratitude has many benefits… how can we teach our teens to be grateful?

• Appreciate the things Around You
• Appreciate Yourself
• Gratitude journal
• Winstreak (Download the App)

Gratitude cannot coexist with depression. Gratitude can help combat the me-focused culture we live in today. Gratitude has many benefits… how can we teach our teens to be grateful?

• § Appreciate Yourself
• § Gratitude journal
• § Winstreak (Download the App)

Todays Extended Version Podcast Tunes in to the song Alive by Peabod

We have two options : Take the easy road - avoids conflict, avoids difficult conversations or we can engage teens. Don’t be silent about things that matter. You are part of a chorus of people training teens to launch. You dont have to have the answer – but you can be the person to  bring up the conversation. Where a void of knowledged exists we make up our own facts

We have two options : Take the easy road - avoids conflict, avoids difficult conversations or we can engage teens. Don’t be silent about things that matter. You are part of a chorus of people training teens to launch. You dont have to have the answer – but you can be the person to  bring up the conversation. Where a void of knowledged exists we make up our own facts

Summer time is a great time to give your teen the formative experiences they desparately need. Look for a camp... spiritual or for one of their interests that can help propel them forward in life.

Not sure where to send your kids to camp? check out www.YFCLincoln.org to learn more about our Summer Camp Experiences.

Summer time is a great time to give your teen the formative experiences they desparately need. Look for a camp... spiritual or for one of their interests that can help propel them forward in life. 

Not sure where to send your kids to camp? check out www.YFCLincoln.org to learn more about our Summer Camp Experiences. 

Extended Version - Enemy by Imagine Dragons

I was on a trip recently… 2 strong, strapping  middle school boys were crying within 3 hours of our arrival. Not because anyone picked on them or they were home sick, or they were hungry or in a new place… but they didn't have their screen.

What can we do about it?

• Be curious
• Establish healthy boundaries
• Model healthy habits

I was on a trip recently… 2 strong, strapping  middle school boys were crying within 3 hours of our arrival. Not because anyone picked on them or they were home sick, or they were hungry or in a new place… but they didn't have their screen. 

What can we do about it?

• Be curious
• Establish healthy boundaries
• Model healthy habits

EXTENDED VERSION - Includes a song by Shawn Mendes

The General Consensus is clear video games are not great for teens. Kids obsessed with gaming are more likely to be sad, irritable, or anxious. Some kids addicted to video games no longer have interested in other activities they used to enjoy.

But it also seems unrealistic to completely turn off the fire hydrant. As adults what we can do is:

Be curious

Establish healthy boundaries

Model healthy habits

How many times have you cornered a child and said “you need to apologize for that.” Adults… we need to learn to say I am sorry to the young people in our lives. If we honestly step back and examine ourselves how many times have we wronged the young people in our lives? Yelled at them, Given them an unwarranted death glare, Be littled them, Acted like we knew what we were talking about only to find out we were wrong.

We need to model "I am sorry" and make the first move is to turn It is way easier to learn to forgive – and that is hard – than to learn to say I am sorry

In this Spotify Only Extended Version you will also hear a song that speaks to the attitudes of todays teens... the song is "Freaks" by Jordan Clarke.

Topic: How many times have you cornered a child and said “you need to apologize for that.” Adults… we need to learn to say I am sorry to the young people in our lives. If we honestly step back and examine ourselves how many times have we wronged the young people in our lives? Yelled at them Given them an unwarranted death glare Be littled them Acted like we knew wat we were talking about only to find out we were wrong Model - First move is to turn It is way easier to learn to forgive – and that is hard – than to learn to say I am sorry

We know that teens are growing like crazy physically. My son grew almost 6 inches this last year… but we as parents, mentors, teachers should realize that the teens in our lives need to be filled with our encouragement.

I don't know a single teen who struggles from receiving too much encouragement from the adults in their life. They desperately need us to help build up their self esteem and confidence and one of the best ways we can do that is by encouraging them and lifting them up with our words.