Student Story: Austin

Parents have come up with dozens of creative ways to discipline their teens. But which of these methods actually work? This weekend on Parenting Today’s Teens, Mark Gregston suggests four critical questions that will put parents on the right path to creating an effective discipline plan for their teen.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Over the course of parenthood, you’ll face your fair share difficult situations and tough decisions. But one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do might not be what you expect –trusting God!

Whether you realize it or not, God’s got a plan for you, your teen, and your whole family. Maybe it’s hard to see when you’re in the thick of things. But even when life feels out of control, God’s still got it in His hands.

I’ve got a homework assignment for you, and it isn’t going to be easy. I want you to think about the headache in your life today. The thing that’s always on your mind.

Now, give it over to God, right now, and trust that He’ll see you through.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Would you ever tell me that you demand perfection from your teen? Probably not. But would your teen give the same answer?

Over decades of working with kids, I’ve heard hundreds of sons and daughters say that their parents needed them to be perfect. Now, I imagine that very few parents would actually confirm that statement. But there’s clearly a pattern here. Even though you don’t verbally demand perfection, maybe your actions say otherwise.

Let me encourage you today to reflect on your relationship with your teen. Could you silently be telling him that he needs to perform to earn your love?

Try out one of my favorite axioms: “There’s nothing you can do to make me love you more. There’s nothing you can do to make me love you less.”

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

They’ve been around for thousands of years. It’s one of man’s longest-enduring inventions.

I’m talking about maps. Nowadays we can just pull them up on our computers and smart phones. But we’d be foolish to go on a trip without consulting a map to plan out where we’re going and how we’re gonna get there.

The same thing goes for raising kids. Right now, you have an immature child that you want to see grow into an independent adult. But how do you get them from point A to point B?

My recommendation is to map out a plan. It could look like an outline of new responsibilities you give your child for every year they grow older. But mom and dad shouldn’t set out on the journey without plotting out the directions!

Draw the map.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

What’s the one thing a girl can’t live without?

Even if your teen tries to tell you otherwise, she can live without her cell phone, her make-up, and that pair of boots, too. But the one thing she really does need to survive is relationship. Just as we were created to walk with our Heavenly Father, our children are wired to seek a personal relationship with us.

So trust me on this one: if your daughter isn’t finding a relationship with mom and dad at home, she’ll try to fill the void elsewhere with things like guys, girlfriends, academics, and sports or even turn to destructive habits like drugs and alcohol.

Have you developed a meaningful relationship with your daughter? Give her what she can’t get from anywhere else – a true sense of value and love.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Does it feel like you’ve tried everything to set your teen on the right track and nothing seems to be working?

I’ve talked to numerous parents who’ve told me, “Mark, it’s getting harder and harder to have hope that my kid will turn out okay. Are things ever going to get better?” And my answer is always, yes!

Philippians 1:6 says we can be confident of this: “He who began a good work will carry it on to completion.” It’s true for you. And it’s true for your teen!

Maybe in this moment, you can’t see where God is taking your teen. But He never leaves a job half-done. Trust in the fact that God is still at work in your child’s life.

Stay strong. God will finish the job.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Student Story: Emily

Many teens believe that their value stems from their accomplishments—they must perform to be loved and meet standards to be worthy. So how can parents foster an environment of unconditional love for their family? This weekend on Parenting Today’s Teens, Mark Gregston suggests ways that moms and dads can separate performance from relationship.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

If you’re a mom or dad, your worst nightmare is to watch your family spin out of control. But for some, the nightmare is not a bad dream. It’s reality.

When a teen and his family are heading toward a crisis, parents often feel completely helpless. But although you feel powerless, it’s important to remain strong! And take action.

The first step is simply accepting what’s happening in your family. Then, you need to make the decision to intervene. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to put a plan into motion, and get your teen whatever help he or she may need.

Taking action might be painful. But it might be the only way to pull your teen of out a nosedive, and restore peace to your home.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Have you ever heard someone say that they bit off a little more than they could chew?

That saying usually doesn’t have anything to do with putting too much food in your mouth. It’s about taking on projects or responsibilities that turn out to be harder and more time-consuming than you expected. And at some point or another, almost every parent feels that way about raising a child.

Today, do you feel like your teen is spinning out of control? Like the conflict and chaos in your home is never going to end?

Don’t back down from the role God has called you to. Trials can bring about change. And God will use this period of struggle to grow both you and your teen.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Okay, be honest now. Is your teenager driving you crazy today?

My heart goes out to parents who feel overwhelmed. Every day is a battle, and they’re starting to lose hope that things will ever change.

Remember this: God is always in control! Even though it feels like you’ve lost control of your teen, maybe even your life it’s never too much for God to handle.

Isaiah 41:10 says: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (NIV)

Mom, dad, don’t let today’s circumstance drag you down. Keep your eyes on God, and remember that this too shall pass.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.