Training Them Wisely - discipling kids

Our children are hearing messages every day from culture, media, friends, entertainment, social media, music, books, and the world around them.

Some lies are easy to recognize. Others sound kind, freeing, popular, wise, or even compassionate.

So how do we help our kids learn to tell the difference between what sounds good and what is actually true?

In this episode of the Training Them Wisely Podcast, we talk about how to help children develop biblical discernment without parenting from fear. The goal is not to make our children suspicious of everything around them, but to help them know God’s Word so well that they can recognize when a message does not line up with truth. We want them to develop a biblical worldview

We discuss practical ways parents can help children evaluate what they are watching, reading, hearing, and experiencing by asking questions such as:

What is this teaching me?

What does this say is good, normal, funny, or desirable?

Does this line up with Scripture?

What kind of fruit does this produce?

Is this influencing me toward wisdom or foolishness?

Am I being compassionate without compromising truth?

We also talk about the importance of teaching children biblical vocabulary so they have words and categories for understanding concepts like sin, repentance, grace, holiness, wisdom, and more.

And because discernment is learned through practice, we look at how parents can model this kind of thinking in everyday life—while also being willing to admit when we need to make a different choice ourselves.

We talk about:

What biblical discernment really means

Why discernment begins with truth rather than fear

Teaching children to ask, “What is this teaching me?”

How culture can redefine words like love, identity, freedom, and truth

Using the Fruit of the Spirit as a discernment framework

Helping kids think wisely about friendships and influence

The difference between compassion and compromise

Teaching children to test messages against Scripture

Why biblical vocabulary matters

Modeling discernment as parents

Filling our homes with what is true, good, and beautiful

Hebrews 5:14

Psalm 119:160

John 17:17

1 Corinthians 13:6

Matthew 7:16

Galatians 5:22–23

1 Corinthians 15:33

Proverbs 13:20

John 1:14

Ephesians 4:15

Acts 17

2 Corinthians 10:5

Philippians 4:8

Choose one thing your child is already watching, reading, listening to, or talking about and have a simple discernment conversation.

Ask:

What is this teaching us?

For younger children, you might ask:

Is this wise or foolish?

For older children and teens, ask:

What worldview is behind this message?

Keep the conversation natural. The goal is not to catch your child enjoying something wrong. The goal is to train them to think biblically.

Training Them Wisely resources are designed to help families open God’s Word, build biblical vocabulary, and apply truth to everyday life.

Resources that connect naturally with this episode include:

Who I Am in Christ

Big Bible Words Explained for Curious Kids

What the Bible Says Love Is

Fruit of the Spirit

Training Them Wisely Bible Studies

Next time, we will talk about teaching kids to obey from the heart—moving beyond simply managing behavior and helping children understand obedience as a response to God.

Until then, keep opening God’s Word, keep pointing your children to Christ, and keep training them wisely.

Our children are being discipled every day by the messages around them. In this episode, we talk about how to teach kids to think biblically so they learn to see life through the truth of God’s Word. We discuss worldview, wisdom, truth, feelings, the heart, cultural messages, and practical questions parents can use to help children compare everything with Scripture.

Training Them Wisely resources are designed to help families open God’s Word, ask thoughtful questions, and apply biblical truth to daily life. Visit trainingthemwisely.com to find Bible studies and discipleship tools for your family.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When family Bible time falls apart, you do not have to quit or drown in guilt. In this episode, we talk about how to begin again when Bible rhythms break while still valuing the importance of God’s Word in the home. Be encouraged to receive God’s grace, adjust your plan, and restart with simple, faithful steps.

Looking for Bible studies that help your family get back into God’s Word with structure and purpose? Training Them Wisely resources are designed to help kids, teens, and adults read, study, pray, and apply Scripture together. Visit trainingthemwisely.com to learn more.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Discipling different ages at the same time is possible without watering down Scripture. In this episode, we talk about how to use the same Bible passage with preschoolers, elementary kids, tweens, and teens by asking layered questions, giving each child a way to participate, and helping older kids go deeper while younger children meaningfully engage with God’s Word.

Training Them Wisely Bible studies are designed to help families study Scripture across different ages, with resources for preschool and early elementary, kids, teens, and adults. Visit trainingthemwisely.com to find resources for your family.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Family discipleship is not meant to stay in one part of the day. In this episode, we look at Deuteronomy 6 and talk about how parents can bring Scripture, prayer, correction, conversation, worship, and biblical thinking into the ordinary rhythms of family life. Be encouraged that discipleship happens when we sit, walk, lie down, and rise as we faithfully point our children to Christ.

Looking for Bible studies and discipleship tools to help your family stay rooted in God’s Word? Training Them Wisely resources are designed to help families open Scripture, talk about truth, and apply God’s Word in everyday life. Visit trainingthemwisely.com to learn more.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Family discipleship is more than a perfect family devotion around the table. In this episode, we talk about how parents can point their children to Christ through Scripture, prayer, correction, conversation, worship, service, and ordinary everyday moments. Be encouraged: you do not need a complicated plan to be faithful.

Check out family discipleship resources at TrainingThemWisely.com

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Helping kids read and study the Bible does not mean watering Scripture down. In this episode, we talk about how children can learn to open God’s Word with depth, joy, and consistency through simple questions, the SOAP method, Scripture marking, prayer, and everyday application. Be encouraged that kids can understand more than we often think, and parents can help them grow in love for God’s Word.

Training Them Wisely Bible studies are designed to help kids, teens, and adults engage directly with Scripture through thoughtful questions, Scripture marking, prayer, and application. Visit trainingthemwisely.com to find resources for your family.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What counts as family discipleship? It is more than a perfect family devotion around the table. In this episode, we talk about how parents can point their children to Christ through Scripture, prayer, correction, conversation, worship, service, and ordinary everyday moments. Be encouraged that family discipleship does not have to be complicated to be faithful.

Looking for resources to help your family grow in God’s Word together? Visit trainingthemwisely.com for Bible studies and discipleship tools for kids, teens, and families.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Learn a simple way to study the Bible using observation, interpretation, and application, and discover how to help your children slow down, understand Scripture in context, and respond with obedience and prayer.

Check out our family discipleship resources at TrainingThemWisely.com

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Reading the Bible is such a delight! And when we read, we want to read with a purpose. The Bible is written so that we can know God. 

It is about knowing God, hearing His truth, and allowing His Word to shape the way we think, live, pray, and parent.

We also encourage parents to begin with prayer, ask thoughtful questions as they read, and use simple tools or Bible reading plans when helpful. The goal is not perfection or performance, but growing in faithfulness and helping our children see that God’s Word is living, active, true, and worth building our lives upon.

I apologize this episode is a day late coming out. We are still recovering from our son's hospitalization, and so some things are behind. Thank you so much for your prayers! He is doing great now!

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.