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Difficult Questions About Children & Parenting

Resources Curated around Challenging Questions about Children and Parenting

Curated by Phil Thompson & Jennifer Brogdon
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How Do I Overcome The Fear Of Failing At Parenting?

Parenting brings many fears such as a fear of failure or of being inadequate.

Have you ever feared that your children will pick up your bad habits? Do you feel their souls won’t bear fruit because you’re not disciplining correctly? Have you ever felt like you have no idea what you’re doing?

So how do you overcome these fears? The following resources will help you know how to fight fear in parenting.

  • John Piper


  • Paul Tripp


  • Noël Piper, Kathleen Nielson, & Gloria Furman


  • Todd Wagner


What Do I Do When My Teen Is Abandoning Christ?

You may feel hopeless as your teen wants nothing to do with Christ or the church anymore. It’s possible you’ve done everything imaginable to show them the glorious truth of the gospel, yet they still desire to turn away.

Ultimately, God must draw your teen to himself. Below lists a few suggestions, such as prayer and fasting, if your teen gets to this point.

  • John Piper


What Should I Do When My Spouse Doesn't Want Kids But I Do?

It’s important to understand God’s purpose for bearing of children (Gen. 1:28). We must fill the earth with his image-bearers! This may be biological children, adopted children, or spiritual children. God calls all believers to make disciples (Matt. 28:18–20). Having children presents a wonderful opportunity to raise disciples of the Lord. Sadly, not every couple can have children and may struggle with infertility. Yet God still calls every couple and every Christian to make disciples. No situation, however, brings more glory than the other, for each avenue to make disciples glorifies God.

But what if you are able to have kids and want them–but your spouse doesn’t? Consider humbly asking your spouse to examine why he or she doesn’t desire children. Is it for selfish reasons? Is it health-related? Does it glorify God?

The resources below look at the value of having children (biological or not) in Scripture and encourages us to desire it for the sake of the kingdom of God. Once we desire children and making disciples, God takes care of the means.

  • John Piper


  • John Piper


How Should The Christian View Summer Vacations?

As Christians, we find it hard to rest sometimes and can even feel guilty when planning a vacation especially for those among the 40,000 in attendance at John Piper’s famous “seashell” message or readers of his book, Don’t Waste Your Life.

But there’s a difference between retiring to a lifestyle of laziness and taking a break from work to go on a brief vacation. On the other side, we shouldn’t neglect work for extravagant play and recreation.

Below John Piper and other resources explain the need for rest and sleep and the occasional vacation for the Christian. Indeed, we do not waste our lives when we rest! We must consider our limits as well as the need of our families.

  • John Piper


How Should I Teach My Kids About Modesty?

A list of rules will not fix the problem of immodesty in our culture. The problem with immodesty exists in how it dishonors Christ.

So how do we teach our kids about modesty? We must first start with God and how the gospel transforms everything. Then, set an example and show practically what modesty is and why it’s important.

Check out the following resources for more.

  • Kathy Chapell, Mary K. Mohler, & Mindy Belz


  • John Piper


  • Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth - Modest TeensRuntime: 1 min
  • Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth - Starting YoungRuntime: 1 min

How Does Scripture Teach Us To Discipline Our Children?

Many resources speak on how to raise, teach, or discipline children. But what does the Bible say about it?

The Bible doesn’t give a ton of specifics, but it gives enough of a guideline to know how to discipline our children in a way that honors God. Ultimately, Scripture shows discipline to get to the heart of the child.

“Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.” –Proverbs 23:13

Look below to dig more into what the Bible says about discipline.

  • Mike Bullmore, Vermon Pierre, & Ryan Kelly


  • Tedd Tripp


  • John MacArthur


  • John Piper


How Should I Encourage Young Parents?

Young parents need encouragement. Perhaps you’re not a parent, so you don’t know how to encourage them. Maybe you are a parent, but you feel like you’re drowning too and at a loss for what to say.

If you’ve wondered how to encourage the young parents in your church or workplace, see what others suggest below.

  • Melissa Kruger


  • Paul Tripp


  • John Piper


How Do I Talk To My Kids About Sex?

Sex is important to talk about with your kids. They will hear about it somewhere. Wouldn’t you rather them hear the biblical view of sex from you instead of hearing the world’s perspective only?

But how do you do it? Will it be awkward? Do you need to use code words such as “the birds and the bees”? Should you tell it to them straight? How do you make sex desirable within the context of marriage?

Below are several interviews, articles, and books on how to talk to your kids about sex.

  • Russell Moore


  • ERLC Panel - Parenting Conference 2017


  • ERLC Panel - Parenting Conference 2017