Christian Parent, Crazy World LifeAudio

As parents, we spend a lot of time and energy ensuring that our kids are safe in their physical spaces. We put up safeguards around hour homes. We go to great lengths to live in a safe neighborhood and send our kids to a safe school.

 

But what about our kid’s digital spaces?

 

The threats for our children are as significant in cyberspace as they are in their physical space.

 

Catherine welcomes back Kristen Jensen, founder of Defend Young Minds, to discuss the threats our children face in cyberspace and how to protect them. Defend Young Minds creates powerful resources to protect children online

 

Our culture says that our children deserve privacy online, but no child deserves to face these threats alone. We may think that our child is just upstairs playing a video game, but there are dangers in digital spaces. You wouldn’t drop your child off in Central Park and say, “Have fun! I’ll see you in a few hours…” And yet we often leave our kids vulnerable to dangerous influences from around the world when we hand them an unprotected, unmonitored device.

 

Some digital dangers that can ensnare kids include:


Pornography
Sexting
Cyberbullying
Sextortion
Trafficking

 

Tackling all the technology surrounding our kids may seem like an insurmountable task, but while our kids may have more tech savvy, we have wisdom. And we must use it to protect our kids.

 

About the Guest: Kristen A. Jenson, MA is the founder of Defend Young Minds and #1 best-selling author of the Good Pictures Bad Pictures series of read-aloud books which have translations in 10 languages. She is also the executive producer of the Brain Defense: Digital Safety curriculum and the owner and CEO of Glen Cove Press, LLC.

 

RESCOURCES MENTIONED:

 

To enter the giveaway for a free set of Kristen’s books, SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Defend Young Minds: All Articles

Defend Young Minds: Tackle the Tech (section)

7 Essential Rules for New Tech to Safeguard Your ChildDo Kids Deserve Digital Privacy? 3 Myths Debunked for Smart ParentsBrain Defense: Digital Safety (curriculum)

Good Pictures, Bad Pictures Book Series

CPCW Episode 105: Social Media and Our Kids: What Every Parent Needs To Know

Defend Young Minds Website

How To Talk to Kids about Pornography (free guide)

My Kids Saw Porn, Now What (guide)

 

TECH RESOURCES:

Gryphon Parent Control Router

Canopy Filtering Software

The Ultimate Comparison of the Best Smartphones for Kids in 2023: Pinwheel, Gabb, Troomi, Bark and MMGuardian

 
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Few conversations make parents fill more ill-equipped and tongue-tied than discussing the topic of pornography with our kids. How do we even broach the subject?

 

Catherine’s guest has created a book series that does all of the hard work for us. Kristen Jensen is the #1 best-selling author of the Good Pictures Bad Pictures series of read-aloud books, which have been translated into 10 languages. These books define pornography and warn against the threats, and then they provide parents and kids with a game plan to defend young minds against the dangers.

 

In this episode, Kristen walks parents through the Defend Young Minds triple defense plan for parents:

 


Get the facts.
Arm your kids.
Continue the conversation

 

As parents, we must give our kids the proper vocabulary to discuss this threat while explaining the dangers lurking behind enticing pictures and videos. And we need to empower our children to resist the temptation.

 

Pornography isn’t your child’s fault, but it is their problem. No child deserves to face the porn industry alone. They need to be educated and they need to have a strategy for the moment when they encounter pornography. 

 

About the author Kristen A. Jenson, MA is the founder of Defend Young Minds and #1 best-selling author of the Good Pictures Bad Pictures series of read-aloud books which have translations in 10 languages. She is also the executive producer of the Brain Defense: Digital Safety curriculum and the owner and CEO of Glen Cove Press, LLC.

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

 

To enter the giveaway for a free set of Kristen’s books, SUBSCRIBE HERE.

 

Good Pictures, Bad Pictures Book Series

Defend Young Minds Website

How To Talk to Kids about Pornography (free guide)

My Kids Saw Porn, Now What (guide)

 

How God Made Your Body by Jim Burns (ages 3-5)

How God Makes Babies by Jim Burns (ages 6-9)
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The Surgeon General came out with a very troubling report recently on social media usage among children that should concern us as parents. What are those warnings and what do we as parents need to know to safeguard our kids?

 

Catherine has invited Dr. Walt Mueller back to break it all down for us.

 

Covered in this episode:

 

*Often overlooked good things to celebrate in the area of technology and social media.

*The shocking statistics and serious warnings contained in the recent Surgeon General’s Report on children and social media usage.

*Warning signs of device addiction.

*Important questions to ask ourselves regarding our device and social media usage as parents.

*How to have meaningful conversation with our kids on the topic of social media.

*Vital guidelines for protecting our kids from social media and device addiction.

 

Bio: Dr. Walt Mueller is the founder and President of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, a non-profit organization serving schools, churches, and community organizations around the world in their efforts to strengthen families. Walt has been working with young people and families for over 35 years, and with a Masters of Divinity and a Doctorate in Postmodern Generation from Gordon Cromwell Theological Seminary, he has become a recognized authority on youth culture, family issues, and all things having to do with teens and their world. Walt is also the host of the Youth Culture Matters Podcast.

 

EPISODE RESOURCES & LINKS:

 

The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding

Youth Culture Matters Podcast

Youth Culture Matters: Episode 179 “Teens, Tech, and Social Media – A Youth Worker Roundtable”

Social Media and Youth Mental Health – The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory 2023

Pew Research Center: Teens, Social Media and Technology (2022)

The Social Dilemma (Netflix)

Tony Renke: 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You

Greg Luukianoff & Jonathan Haidt: The Coddling of the American Mind

Jean Twenge: IGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood

CPYU Parent Prompt: Social Media & God’s Glory

Unplugged (FOTF)Effective Strategies: Tips for Influencing Your Child’s Social Media Use

 

 
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Media is bombarding our children at every turn, and at the same time the generation gap is widening. Catherine’s special guest, Dr. Walt Mueller specializes in understanding the next generation—their thought processes, their challenges, and the many ways that entertainment and media are bombarding our kids’ lives with deeply concerning messages. As founder and president of The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, Walt has worked as a cross generational liaison for more than 35 years. 

 

Threats from the entertainment world have proliferated with endless internet and television inroads and influences. Walt and Catherine discuss concerning messages from:

 

*Mr. Beast

*Arthur

*Madagascar

*Chip & Potato

*My Little Pony

*Rugrats

*Doc McStuffins

*Ridley Jones

 

As Walt wisely advises, we must read, listen to, and watch what is engaging the hearts and minds of our kids. We must not to be alarmist, but we must be aware. And we must speak first on all of these topics to establish a foundation of truth for our kids.

 

Bio: Dr. Walt Mueller is the founder and President of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, a non-profit organization serving schools, churches, and community organizations around the world in their efforts to strengthen families. Walt has been working with young people and families for over 35 years, and with a Masters of Divinity and a Doctorate in Postmodern Generation from Gordon Cromwell Theological Seminary, he has become a recognized authority on youth culture, family issues, and all things having to do with teens and their world. Walt is also the host of the Youth Culture Matters Podcast.

 

EPISODE RESOURCES & LINKS:

 

The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding

Youth Culture Matters Podcast

CPYU Blog The Latest on Teens and Social Media Feb. 23, 2024

EPISODE 81: Can Your Kids Be Whoever They Want to Be in Life?

 

All Creatures Great and Small (Masterpiece Theater)

 

Will Mr. Best ‘Indoctrinate Young Children with Trangender Propaganda?,’ SBC Leader Asks

Romper List of Shows with LGBTQ+ Characters

The No-Watch List: Guide to All the Kid’s Shows and Movies that Have LGBTQ Characters and Content (Scott Smith)

FOTF: Plugged In TV & Movie Reviews

Christian Courier: Guidelines for Children’s Entertainment

The Social Dilemma (Netflix)

 

FAITH BASED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES FOR KIDS:

 

Minno

Pureflix Kids

Yippie

Shalom World

Faithlife TV
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The mental health crisis in our country is at critical mass. Children are struggling like never before and parents are concerned, as they should be.

 

What foundation do we need to have in place to help our kids to be strong mentally?

 

Catherine’s guest, Dr. Bill Senyard, shares some warning signs that a child is struggling and offers practical ways to establish a strong foundation for your child’s mental health.

 

Attachment theory, the prevailing psychological theory in child development, emphasizes a child’s emotional bond with their primary caregiver. Dr. Senyard defines the four primary attachment styles that a child can exhibit. They are:

 


Secure—confident, reciprocal, non-reactive, resilient.
Anxious—emotional, reactive, volatile.
Fearful—composite of anxious and avoidant.
Avoidant—isolated, emotionally distant.

 

One relational style is mentally healthy and strong, the other three are showing signs of distress., of a breakdown in mental health. In this episode, Dr. Senyard gives practical ways to help children who exhibit those unhealthy traits.

 

Dr. Bill Senyard’s bio: Bill’s career has taken him from being a Chemical engineer, a strategic management consultant, and a co-owner of an Inc. 500 high-tech company to fulltime church ministry where he served multiple congregations as a Lead Pastor for over 35 years. He is a popular conference speaker in the US and Canada as well as abroad. He has written over a dozen non-fiction books and workbooks on a wide range of important topics including, how Christians can effectively and Biblically forgive others, how frustrated parents of teens can be “good enough parents” and most importantly, God’s love for the unlovable. Bill is the creator of The Good Enough Parent, a phenomenal curriculum that has a ton of free resources for parents.

 

Bill’s Website

Good Enough Parent Curriculum

Attachment Theory For Teens Simplified (video)

Bill’s Book: Tale of the Unlikely Prince

 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

 

Episode 85: 8 Words Every Parent Must Say To Their Child

Beyond Consequences by Heather T. Forbes
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and according to the CDC, our kids are facing a mental health crisis. Consider these recent statistics:

 

*Suicide & homicide rates in youth ages 10 to 24 are the highest they have been in decades, since 1968.

*42% of adolescents are feeling sadness and hopelessness, up 50% from 2011 (57% are females).

*22% of all students have considered attempting suicide, up from 36%.

*Youth and young adults (ages 10-24) account for 15% of all suicides, an increase of 52.2% since 2000.

*Suicide has become the second-leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24.

*46% of adolescence ages 13 to 17 say that social media makes their body image worse.

 

Parents are justifiably concerned, and often they don’t know where to start when a child is struggling mentally.

 

Catherine’s guest in this episode is Dr. Bill Senyard, a mental health expert who specializes in helping parents reconnect the critical bond with their child to address the foundation of their mental health.

 

Every child has two primary needs from their parents:

 

1. They need to feel CONNECTED.

 

2. They need to feel like they are ENOUGH.

 

A child must know that their parents have their back, and they must know that they are loved no matter what. If this critical foundation breaks down, a child will become disconnected from their parents and others. They will suffer in all of their relationships and in their mental health.

 

Bill shares how to reestablish that connection through attunement. If one in every three interactions with our kids attune to their foundational emotional needs, we can reconnect with our child and build a strong mental foundation for life.

 

Dr. Bill Senyard’s bio: Bill’s career has taken him from being a Chemical engineer, a strategic management consultant, and a co-owner of an Inc. 500 high-tech company to fulltime church ministry where he served multiple congregations as a Lead Pastor for over 35 years. He is a popular conference speaker in the US and Canada as well as abroad. He has written over a dozen non-fiction books and workbooks on a wide range of important topics including, how Christians can effectively and Biblically forgive others, how frustrated parents of teens can be “good enough parents” and most importantly, God’s love for the unlovable. Bill is the creator of The Good Enough Parent, a phenomenal curriculum that has a ton of free resources for parents.

 

Bill’s Website

Good Enough Parent Curriculum

Attachment Theory For Teens Simplified (video)

Bill’s Book: Tale of the Unlikely Prince

 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

 

John 3:16

Romans 8:1

Ephesians 3
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