Parents Resources Page
Because we all need a little help with those little ones.
Parents Resources Page
Because we all need a little help with those little ones.
Check-out this list of awesome books, ministries, podcasts, studies, local Des Moines organizations and more. It may take a village, but you'll be amazed by how God has equipped your village with all you could ever ask for or need.
BOOKS
Whether you’re a parent, teacher, coach, grandparent, or the fun uncle in your family, YOU HAVE PROBABLY TRIED TO "FIX" A CHILD.
We've all said things like, "He has to calm down." "She has to speak up!" "Why won’t they just do what I tell them to do?"No matter the age or stage, kids are . . . hard. But understanding their wiring might change the way you look at (and speak to) every child that crosses your path from this day forward.
Communication expert Kathleen Edelman has spent three decades helping grown-ups make sense of the kids around them. The result? Better behavior, better relationships. In this book and the six videos that go along with it (free on YouTube), she’ll do the same thing for you and the kids in your family, in your classroom, or on your team.
Touted by Pastor Tom Allen as "life-changing," this book is a guide to developing a grace-filled marriage and raising creative, contented, capable children without legalism or manipulation.
Empower Your Kids to Respond Well to the Hard Questions That Threaten Their Faith
It's no secret that children of all ages are being exposed to negative criticism of Christianity as they spend time at school, with friends, or online. Are you prepared to talk with your kids about how they can effectively answer the tough questions that come their way?
In Keeping Your Kids on God's Side, you'll find 40 of the most common challenges kids face—along with clear, easy-to-understand responses you can discuss together. This book will help you...
• encourage open dialogue on issues your kids might hesitate to talk about
• replace your children's doubts with the confidence only God's truth can give
• equip your kids to build the good thinking skills essential for today
Christian parenting is hard work--and it's getting harder. Parents have a deep desire to pass on their faith, but fear that today's increasingly skeptical and hostile world will eventually lead their kids to reject the truth of Christianity. That leaves many parents feeling overwhelmed--uncertain of what they can do to help their children, given the difficulty and extent of the faith challenges they will face.
This practical and timely resource gives parents the confidence of knowing what to discuss with their children and how to discuss it in order to facilitate impactful conversations that will form the basis of a lifelong faith. In a friendly, parent-to-parent voice, Natasha Crain identifies 30 specific conversations about God that parents must have with their children, organizing them under the categories of
- the existence of God
- science and God
- the nature of God
- believing in God
- the difference God makes
Chapters are sequenced in a curriculum-oriented way to provide a cumulative learning experience, making this book a flexible resource for use in multiple settings: homes, church classes, youth groups, small groups, private Christian schools, and homeschools. Every chapter has a step-by-step conversation guide with discussion questions and tips, and content is readily adaptable for use with kids of any age (elementary through high school).
You already know the world is becoming an increasingly secular place that will undoubtedly challenge your child's faith in Jesus. But do you know specifically what those faith challenges are, how to effectively talk with your child about them, and what that means for you as a Christian parent on a day-to-day basis?
If your answer is "no," you're not alone. Many Christian parents feel the same.
But here's the good news: Talking with Your Kids about Jesus will give you the confidence you need to have the conversations that matter most in today's skeptical world. In a friendly, parent-to-parent voice, Natasha Crain will walk you through essential topics on Jesus's identity, teachings, death, and resurrection. Each chapter clearly explains what skeptics are saying and provides a concise, easy-to-understand response you can discuss with your child (one that can be tailored for any age).
Chapters are sequenced in a curriculum-oriented way to provide a cumulative learning experience, making this book a flexible resource for use in multiple settings: homes, church classes, youth groups, small groups, private Christian schools, and homeschools. Every chapter has a step-by-step conversation guide with discussion questions and tips, and content is readily adaptable for use with kids of any age.
Do you battle with your kids over bedtime? Have fights over food? Are tantrums and conflicts ruling your day? If time-outs have quit working and you find yourself at wit's end, giving in to your kids' demands just to have a moment of peace, know there is hope!
In The Well-Behaved Child, beloved psychologist John Rosemond shares his seven essential tools for raising a child who pays attention and obeys. Once you learn how to use his proven, user-friendly techniques, you'll have everything you need to deal effectively with a wide range of discipline problems in children ages three to thirteen, what John terms "The Decade of Discipline." This clear, step-by-step program includes:
- Seven Fundamentals of Effective Discipline
- Seven Discipline Tools You Can't Do Without
- Seven Top Behavior Problems of All Time—Solved!
- Seven Tales of the Strange and Unexpected
You can raise well-behaved children! In this readable, entertaining "workshop in a book," John shows parents how to use the C-words of commanding communication, compelling consequences, and confirming consistency to create a well-behaved child and a family in which peace replaces hassles. It's not complicated at all, and the best part is, it REALLY works!
With a down-to-earth, warm, and humorous style, one of America’s top family psychologists sets forth a virtually stress-free, biblically based system of childrearing that encourages family growth in harmony with God’s Word.
Picture respectful, responsible, obedient children who entertain themselves without television or video games, do their own homework, and have impeccable manners. A pie-in-the-sky fantasy? Not so, says family psychologist and bestselling author John Rosemond.
In the 1960s, American parents stopped listening to their elders when it came to child rearing and began listening instead to professional experts. Since then, raising children has become fraught with anxiety, stress, and frustration. The solution, says John, lies in raising children according to biblical principles, the same principles that guided parents successfully for hundreds of years. They worked then, and they still work now!
In this book you’ll find practical, Bible-based advice that will help you be the parent you want to be, with children who will be, as the Bible promises, “a delight to your soul” (Prov. 29:17).
You know what your kid is going through is just a phase, but what does that really mean?
Don't Miss It (by Reggie Joiner and Kristen Ivy) reminds parents that phases are not just periods of time to be survived, but opportunities to be maximized. It gives parents a simple strategy for parenting every week like it counts. It can help them reprioritize their time with their kids; it may even change how they see their kids and themselves.
(And because parents are busy, it's designed to take an hour or less to read.)
It's just a phase. So don't miss it.
SPOTLIGHT
A Grown-Up's Guide to Kids' Wiring
After a monumental series I Said This, You Heard That, Kathleen Edelman lends her insight and practical approach to parenting and children. A six-session video series to complement the book, A Grown-Up's Guide to Kids' Wiring, is free to watch on YouTube. It's engaging and beyond practical.
Take Back Your Family
New York Times bestselling author Jefferson Bethke delivers a powerful critique of the nuclear family ideal and calls for a sweeping new paradigm that brings not only longed-for stability but also radical blessings to the world.
The West's multi-century experiment with the nuclear family has failed. Its toxic hyper-individualism has left us with an unprecedented number of broken homes and rampant confusion over what a family is supposed to be. Jefferson Bethke delivers the solution we've been seeking: a plan for taking back our families from the modern myth that has derailed us and a vision for returning to the life-giving, biblical model of multi-generational teams.
In Take Back Your Family, Bethke uncovers the historic events that led to our obsession with the nuclear family, then exposes the devastating effects of our current "me culture." Now, writing from the visceral perspective of a father with three young children, he shares the values and strategies he and his family lean on in their quest to live as a community bonded by a shared mission, committed to mutually growing and thriving together. By returning to God's original design for families on earth, he says, we can participate in the kingdom work that restores and fulfills our innermost desires for connection, contentment, and meaning.
RIGHTNOW MEDIA
Have a New Kid by Friday is your five-day action plan that really works! With his signature wit and commonsense psychology, internationally recognized family expert Dr. Kevin Leman reveals why your kids do what they do and what you can do about it- starting right now.
Moms want a guarantee, but in life there are no guarantees. You can do everything “right” as a mom, but in the end your child may choose a different path than what you had wanted for them. So, what are we to do as moms? Make it Count can help guide you and help you gain the right perspective for this crazy, wonderful journey of motherhood. I say journey because that is what it is- it is 18 years of training. My prayer for you is that you will realize the importance of your role as a mom. There is no other job that has such a huge potential to impact the future- you are raising the next generation. What a powerful, significant job God has given to you! I also pray that you will realize you cannot do this job on your own, but you will need the help, direction, and love of a Heavenly Father who loves you, and your children...immeasurably.
Most of us believe passionately in contributing to our children's physical, social, and intellectual development. We make sure they have clothes and shelter. We try to see that they eat right, get enough sleep, and monitor their friendships. We also do everything possible to make sure they succeed at school. Featuring the inspiring teaching of Dr. Tony Evans, this six-week study calls and instructs parents to raise God-following children who are also spiritually strong and prepared to take on the assignments God has for their lives.
Contains practical examples and illustrations to help parents grow kids' faith, with specific instruction in the power of prayer, wisdom,love of God's Word, getting through trials, controlling the tongue, developing patience, and the surrender of service.
14 Principles for Parenting in 2-3 minute video bites.
What is your calling as a parent?
In the midst of folding laundry, coordinating carpool schedules, and breaking up fights, many parents get lost. Feeling pressure to do everything "right" and raise up "good" children. It's easy to lose sight of our ultimate purpose as parents in the quest for practical tips and guaranteed formulas.
In this life-giving book, Paul Tripp offers parents much more than a to-do list. Instead, he presents us with a big-picture view of God's plan for us as parents. Outlining fourteen foundational principles centered on the gospel, he shows that we need more than the latest parenting strategy or list of techniques. Rather, we need the rescuing grace of God-grace that has the power to shape how we view everything we do as parents.
Freed from the burden of trying to manufacture life-change in our children's hearts, we can embrace a grand perspective of parenting overflowing with vision, purpose, and joy.
Parenting is hard. Yes, we love our kids, but they know how to misbehave and push all our buttons. We want to raise them to love and obey God, but we can’t even get them to obey us!
Here’s the good news: we can learn to respond to our kids with love, firm boundaries and grace-based discipline, even when their behavior lights our fuse.
Don't have a RightNow Media Account? Let us know and we can get you connected with one!
MINISTRIES
Single Parent Provision
Single Parent Provision is a non-profit organization providing a trusted partner to single parents and their families by offering programs and services to help single parent families strengthen and thrive.
Hope Ministries
Hope Ministries has been serving people in need in central Iowa since 1915. They provide food, clothing, shelter and life recovery programs for men, women and children out of seven ministry centers around Des Moines.
Safe Families for Children
Safe Families for Children is a family preservation movement motivated by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion to keep children safe and families together facing crisis.
BLOGS & PODCASTS
National speaker, author, blogger, and podcaster whose passion is to help Christians think more clearly about the biblical worldview in the midst of an increasingly challenging secular culture.
Her blogs, podcasts, and books (see above for three of them!) are a must for every parent.
Amazing book, blogs, and podcasts for all the stumpers and helping you and your children think biblically.
“We here at Mama Bear Apologetics use the ROAR method. ROAR is an acronym for:
Recognize the message
Offer discernment (affirm the good and reject the bad)
Argue for a healthier approach
Reinforce through discussion, discipleship, and prayer
We are in a culture war, and unfortunately, a lot of people are talking past each other. Why? Because neither side will recognize the good that their opponent is offering! The ROAR method is intended to identify a message and analyze its ideas with grace and truth. Doing this requires identifying the good intentions, separating them from the bad ideas, synthesizing a healthier approach, and strategically praying through the battle of ideas.”
A podcasts for moms right where they are.
Great blog articles & podcasts.
Do you feel overwhelmed and dissatisfied with your parenting? And perhaps you even feel disconnected from your children? Reverse the trend starting today. It is possible to parent peacefully, and connect with your children even in the midst of discipline.
Have a strong-willed child who doesn't respond to consequences, argues like an attorney, and refuses to do things your way? Good! You're in the right place. Celebrate Calm Founder Kirk Martin has given over 750,000 parents and teachers around the world practical, life-changing strategies to stop power struggles, yelling, and defiance NOW.
Based on work with 1,500 challenging kids (many with AD/HD, OCD, ODD, Aspergers, etc.) in his home, and years spent in classrooms, Kirk's approach is refreshingly practical, honest, and laugh-out-loud funny!
A special miniseries podcast hosted by Jefferson Bethke & Jon Tyson, where they highlight both the problem and the solution to leading a family with intention.
BIBLE PLANS
Bible Plans for Every Age and Every Stage
Whether it's a three-day plan or a three-month plan, The Bible App from Life.Church has a plan for you.
SERMONS
Parenting in the 21st Century Series
Parenting is a long journey. We're along for the ride to help you keep it simple. Check out our parenting message series from October 2021.
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