What if teaching your kids to face challenges on their own is the most important part of raising them to fulfill their God-given purpose?
On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Erin Mashaw, COO of Birds on a Wire and veteran Christian parent, for an perspective-shifting conversation about Christian parenting, spiritual growth, and the real work of raising resilient, faith-filled children. Erin shares powerful insights on faith at home, practical discipleship tips, and why letting your kids struggle and learn is a vital part of family life and God’s bigger story for them.
- [00:05:23] Why protecting our kids is sometimes negative
- [00:08:05] Helping kids gain resilience
- [00:11:08] How to teach responsibility early
- [00:18:11] Practical advice for parents
Resources:
- Birds on a Wire ministry for moms (Birds on a Wire Moms website)
- Wire Talk weekly podcast
- Erin’s website: erinmashaw.com
- Book: "A Student's Guide to Sexual Integrity"
- Upcoming book: "Awkward Conversations: How to Talk with Your Kids About Sex, Gender, and Relationships"
- Instagram: @BirdsonaWireMoms
- Website: collidekidspodcast.com
- Instagram: @collidekidspod
Clip Finder:
Parenting Through the Teen Years: "We're kind of parenting in the teenage, young adult years, which is amazing and wonderful and challenging in a totally new way."
— Erin Mashaw [00:03:35 → 00:03:42]
Viral Parenting Debate: "We are choosing to value protection over preparation."
— Erin Mashaw [00:06:08 → 00:06:12]
Empowering Kids to Speak Up: "It's your responsibility because it's your grade. Let's talk about what you could say or how you could say it, you know, to kind of do those like practice conversations at home so that as a parent, you're still coaching and guiding, but you're putting some control in your child's hands to be able to navigate the situation on their own."
— Erin Mashaw [00:09:38 → 00:09:53]
Viral Parenting Confessions: "Hey, I need to apologize to you because I have really leaned in too much in this area."
— Erin Mashaw [00:12:04 → 00:12:10]
Raising Future Adults: "I want my kids to grow up to be adults who can own it and apologize when they mess up. who can navigate a difficult relational situation."
— Erin Mashaw [00:15:48 → 00:15:56]
Raising Selfless Kids in a Self-Centered World: "I want my kids to learn how to love and serve others, and the very best way to do that is to give them opportunities along the way to practice it."
— Erin Mashaw [00:16:51 → 00:16:59]
Parenting Independence Challenge: "She talks about making a list of 2 things that you're doing for your kids that they can already do themselves, and then 2 things that they can almost do for themselves, and stop doing all of it. Oh, that's good."
— Erin Mashaw [00:18:40 → 00:18:52]
Teaching Kids Independence: "What's something that you would like to be able to do for yourself? You know, and ask our kids, like our boys will have said when they were younger, they were like, I wanna learn how to cook dinner. Like, great, what would you like to learn to cook? Let's do it together."
— Erin Mashaw [00:19:20 → 00:19:31]
Viral Topic: The Shift from Purity to Integrity: "sexual integrity feels like something that I can prioritize as an adult, you know, at any point and stage in my life, whereas purity may, some people feel like you can have it and lose it."
— Erin Mashaw [00:22:59 → 00:23:07]
Viral Road Trip Games: "So, I have this idea, I like open, you know, my notebook, and I write like a really big Q on this, you know, and like he doesn't see me doing it."
— Erin Mashaw [00:24:22 → 00:2
