Helping Parents With Conversation, Education, Discipleship, and Recreation
Here are a few things to do as a family to insure we come out of this lock-down better than we came into it
One of the responsibilities of a YTH leader goes beyond the students in the YTH ministry. Sometimes we can focus so much on teenagers and their world that we forget about their most important setting. Home!
During this coronavirus and COVID-19 shut down, there are a lot of pressures on parents. With the increase of time spent together, parents have now become principals, teachers, coach’s, chefs, tutors, friends, news anchor, and even their kids pastor.
As a YTH leader we should be a resource to parents in four areas: conversation, education, discipleship, and recreation.
Conversation
Maybe it’s awkward to be around each other so much and not sure what to talk about. If anything, this quaranTEEN is forcing us as families to communicate to each other.
Here are some conversation starters between parents and teenagers.
Find out what your kids want to do as soon as the quaranTEEN is over, ask them what restaurant they want to visit first, encourage them to get involved with the YTH ministry online, ask them if they have been connecting with their friends and who they miss the most, and share your knowledge of the situation to give them confidence and valuable information they trust.
A parent will play many roles right now but it is important to make sure the whole family is communicating. Make sure the family is having dinner together and discussion and quality time communicating to each other.
Education
Another important element of parenting during this shut down is the education of our children. This can be intimidating because parents are so far removed from the educational process and content. Here are a few things that can help:
Get in touch with the teachers and ask them how you can get involved, set a time of study each day for 3-4 hours instead of hoping it happens, control the setting with mood - no phones or TV or distractions, encourage your kids to group study with their friends, and be sure to check with your kids at the end of each day to see their progress.
The education of our children is really everyone’s task and not just the school. The bond you can create while teaching your children is lifelong.
Discipleship
This could be one of the great outcomes from this shut down. If we are careful, we will see the impact this quaranTEEN on the theology of our kids in the next 10 years. If we are careful to include discipleship and bible education in the home.
The communication between parents and YTH leaders should be at a high point right now. It is important each know of the resources that are available to them. YTH leaders should be communicating to parents with their content and schedule, YTH leaders should send parents a study guide or outline for everything being created, and YTH leaders should be holding a live online parent session every couple of weeks.
The bond of communication that can be opened between the home and the church could be a major YTH ministry outcome of this quaranTEEN .
Recreation
Finally, every family should be getting plenty of exercise and wellness. This can be a creative and exciting connection in the family. Well planned recreation can take the pressure off everything that is going on and be a source for building better relationships.
here are a few things that you can do for almost no cost and effort:
Set up an obstacle course, play board or card games, have a movie night, plan a scavenger hunt, take a ride to the park and play frisbee or fly a kite or just relax, take a day-cation and drive to a local sightseeing area, or take a family walk or bike ride.
Finally
If you are wanting more ideas, you can go to Pinterest, YouTube, the ALPHA Youth Series, or search the Internet for conversation starters with your children, US Department of education to help with homeschooling, talk to your YTH leaders about their resources, or Google small group games and family day-cations.
Hopefully some of these things will help the family to come out of this lockdown better than we came into it. This would be a terrible thing to waste if we do not focus on the family in these areas.