All Articles for Ages and Stages

Knowing what to do with teenagers to tighten your bond isn’t always easy. But teens don’t need us less as they get older … just differently.

Peer pressure can be subtle. Other times your child's friend sports a Michael Kors bag. Or their second grade class splits into boyfriend-girlfriend duos.

Later that night I told my husband thank you. “What you did this afternoon changed our whole day. Thanks for saying what you said and doing what you did.”

Research shows millennials may be the most family-oriented generation in the last 50 years. Millennial parents are changing the norm to raise healthy kids.

Requiring respect is a gift we give our kids (and ourselves!). But in a parenting age aiming to be gentler and more aware of kids’ emotions, it's not easy.

Unlike the advice of Teen Vogue that robs teenage girls of their value, true advocacy and social responsibility should be in God-glorifying ways.

My son's first day of first grade introduction worksheet: What do you like to do with your friends? His answer, in wonderfully legible pencil: Chase girls.

Right now there’s a mom whose 18 summers are up with her child.18 sounded plenty when empty sippy cups scattered the backseat. Now 18 doesn't feel enough.

Spending the night with friends seems like a normal part of growing up. But my wife and I wonder: should we let our kids go to a sleepover?

For 18 years, you have parented through a maze of joys, laughter, confusion, and even bruises. Now your child is a graduate. You have big changes ahead.

My kids need to see that their value isn’t tied to their grades or what school accepts them. I need to encourage them to follow God’s design and purpose for their lives and not insist they conform to a specific formula for success.

Children this age are unique because they still invite participation and closeness with parents—an attitude that will be changing soon.

Who is responsible for making ends meet when a new baby joins a family – the new parents, their employers, or the government?

How much should you tell your kids about the mistakes you've made in the past? Pastor Drew Hill believes parents should unveil some of the ugliness in our lives ... to show what God has done.

Consider mornings, mealtimes and bedtime as opportunities for making a heart connection with your child. And trust that God, in His sovereignty, will fill the gaps in between.

We advise against giving your children a phone if you are not ready to have a conversation with them about it multiple times a week for multiple years.

A list of questions to help you engage your teens about their beliefs on LGBT issues.

Five steps to prepare them to withstand peer pressure, stand with the truth, and display the love of Christ.

What role should parents play to steer a child away from the traps in the most popular sport for many teens—the dating game?

Here are five questions to consider as you seek to help your daughter grow in godliness.

The arsenal of weapons employed against this generation of teens is unmatched in human history.

If toddlers can memorize favorite songs and stories, why not help them learn the Word of God?

Before you rush to fix your child's problem, ask yourself whether you are truly helping him or her.

Quick advice regarding various areas of your child’s life.

Kids learn how to resolve conflict by watching us do it.

Helping your children learn to live within limits.

Form convictions that you can hold with integrity as you shape the life of your child.

You must set the rules and the boundaries, not your toddler.

How can we break our 3-year-old of throwing tantrums when the sitter comes over?

Dennis and Barbara Rainey, parenting, ages and stages, teens

Few things occupy the hearts and minds of modern young people more than dating relationships. Having a boyfriend or girlfriend strokes a lot of core needs. First, it strokes the need for significance. You can almost hear the cry for validation when you hear a teenage person say, “You’ll never guess who I dated this summer …” You feel […]

Learn why freedom is so important to teens and how to help them channel that freedom without causing a revolution.

In order to teach our children, we parents must embrace three core convictions.

There are three critical tasks that parents must personally embrace before helping their children.

God used this volatile time in my daughter's life to teach me a lesson, too.

The popular Netflix series seeks to address a worthy issue, but it has some troubling flaws.

Observations about the Netflix series from a junior high teacher.

Your kids need you to hold them accountable in the area of dating.

Since we live in a media-driven world, how can we stay on top of the media?

Four lessons from a mom and dad who have been there.

Children must be taught that cutting others down in any way is repulsive because every person is made in the image of God.

Children must be taught that cutting others down in any way is repulsive because every person is made in the image of God.

Don't waste the incredible opportunity you have during the "golden years" to prepare your children for adolescence.

Steering clear of peer pressure can keep your standards from being trampled.

Your kids know all about the latest phone and internet technologies. So do pornographers. Donna Rice Hughes talks about the importance of protecting your children.

A special blessing to my sons and son-in-law.

How to prove to your kids that you're not weird.

A survey in a teen Sunday school class reveals a desire to know the honest truth.

Raising teenagers means pursuing their heart even when they don’t demonstrate love in return.

Shaping your child’s convictions about deceit begins as you teach him to fear God.

Many parents make the mistake of releasing their kids to make their own choices at the very time when they are most tempted to follow the crowd.

Many parents make the mistake of releasing their kids to make their own choices at the very time when they are most tempted to follow the crowd.

Eleven ways to ensure that your teenager will not be prepared for the future.

As a parent you do need to set some limits.

There is beauty in learning to let go of your adult children.

A mother's difficult decision about her married daughter.