Family Matters

s a parent, how should I deal with my children when mass shootings, natural disasters, and other tragic events involving loss of life occur? Should I do my best to shield them from this information – an almost impossible task in the face of today's constant news media cycle? Or should I try to talk to them about it?

All married couples face the enormous decision of if and when they would like to have children. There are various different methods for preventing pregnancy, which, of course, allows a couple to wait for a while after marriage before starting a family, in between having more kids, or when choosing not to have children. The dilemma with all of this is that there is quite a lot of controversy around the use of contraceptives. We’ll take a look at different birth control methods, and offer support from a Christian perspective.

Have you ever been fed up with your spouse’s friends? It’s hard to get excited about a social event when you really don’t have much in common with the crowd of people your spouse likes to hang out with. However, in marriage, there has to be some give and take, and perhaps there’s no benefit in denying your spouse that time with the friends of his or her choice.

Divorce is never an easy road to walk, and when there are kids involved you can expect an even harder slog. Children are profoundly affected by their parents splitting up, and Mom and Dad need to know how best to deal with their kids’ scared and confused behavior.

Depression is a clinical condition that affects the psyche of a person in varying degrees, but it also affects the family members in a considerable way. We’ll take an honest look at ways to minimize the impact of depression.

There is so much to be said for the enormous role that a father plays in his daughter’s life, and especially in her confidence. A father shapes the way a girl sees herself in society, and so he has a great influence on feeding her self-worth.

We are regularly asked by parents, how they should go about dealing with a child who has been a victim of bullying and cyber-bullying. There are a number of articles that give guidelines and advice to those parents on our website at safamily.co.za. But, today we want to speak to the teens themselves who are being faced with cyber-bullying. We’ve heard from many teens that are struggling to live productive and normal lives because they are fearful of the bullies at school or those they’re connected with on social media. Cyber-bullying is not okay, and we’ll talk more about ways to deal with the onslaught of negative messages and threats on the next Family Matters.

Children read about the Devil in the bible and hear stories told in Sunday School, and sometimes they begin to have nightmares and uncontrollable fears of this unseen enemy. Parents can do a lot to allay those fears by referencing what God’s word says in the Bible.

Should a grown child still have to listen to instructions from Mom and Dad? When does a parent’s role change? These are such common questions as children reach an age of independence, but what does the Bible have to say about this?

As human beings, we are so fallible, and our hearts and minds can lead us astray very easily if we don’t keep them in check and surrendered to God. As Christians, we have been rescued out of slavery to sin and reconciled to God, but that does not mean that sinful thought never crosses our minds. We still have to make a conscious decision daily to take up our cross and follow Christ. In marriage, we have to guard our hearts against any sinful desire that may threaten our relationship with our spouse.