3 things I’m teaching my son about peer pressure

March 14, 2018 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of young children | Tagged Children, Christ, God, Parents, peer pressure

3 things I’m teaching my son about peer pressure Scripture tells us that life is like a “mist” – here today and gone tomorrow – but nothing captures this like childrearing.

My oldest son is now nine, but it seems just yesterday he was saying his first sentence (“I see lights”), taking his first steps (on a porch of a Cracker Barrel), and spelling his first word (“P-O-L-I-C-E” – he was infatuated with law enforcement).

He subsequently rode his first bike, lost his first tooth, and passed his first test.

It was incredible, and it all happened lightning-fast.

Now he is on the verge of his tween years, which will place him on the doorstep of his teen years, when will then launch him into adulthood.

And even though he still wants to be with me virtually every minute of the day, the time is fast approaching when he might want just the opposite. During those years – filled with pimples and voice changes and awkward moments – he will be tempted to spend more time with his friends than his family. And during those moments with his pals and perhaps even a girlfriend, he’ll be faced with peer pressure like he has never experienced.

I’m already seeing glimpses of this future. Just the other day he heard a boy his age say the f-word. Not long after that, he saw an older boy walking down the sidewalk, smoking. And then there was the time he heard some college students – at a sporting event – mock God.

For the first few years of his life, we encouraged him to play with other kids. Now, we sometimes urge him to stay away from other kids. And I can pretty much read his mind as he thinks: “Why are some boys and girls different from me?”

Honestly, I am prepared for the days when he thinks his dad is no longer cool. But I don’t want him ever to be ashamed of Christ and His teachings.

So, when he asks me a question about his friends and the subject turns into a conversation about peer pressure, I try to make three main points: Continue reading →

3 lessons for kids and parents in ‘The Secret Life of Pets’

July 23, 2016 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents & media usage, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Christ, film, God, kids, movie, Parents, secret life of pets

Each time my young son and I walk into a movie theater, I give him a friendly reminder: Let’s look for a few lessons in the film we can learn. Most of the time after the credits roll, he’s great at rattling off a few ideas, but after we watched The Secret Life of Pets, he was stumped.

“What can we learn from that one?” I asked.

“Umm, I’m not sure,” he responded.

Perhaps that’s because he and I spent more time laughing at the movie than analyzing it. But upon reflection, there actually are several significant lessons in The Secret Life of Pets that all of us can teach our kids.

Here are three: Continue reading →

3 ways to teach your kids about Easter, death and the cross

March 12, 2016 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, Christ, Cross, Easter, God, Jesus, kids, Parents

My 4-year-old daughter Maggie has always been a bit studious for her age. She knew colors when she was 2, was reading the entire alphabet when she was 3, and by the time she turned 4, could read a digital clock.

So I was a bit surprised when my wife told me toward the end of last year that Maggie had failed a holiday pop quiz. The question from my wife was the same one that Charlie Brown shouted to all of his friends: What’s Christmas all about?

Maggie’s answer: “presents.”

I’m sure she said it in an oh-so-sweet voice, and I bet she even had an oh-so-precious smile on her face, but she also was oh-so-wrong. Christmas, my wife told her, is about Jesus—even if presents can be part of innocent holiday fun. By the end of the day Maggie had watched a cartoon about baby Jesus and had been read a book about baby Jesus, and it’s safe to say she went to bed that night knowing that Christmas wasn’t all about dolls, dollhouses and pretty pink necklaces.

Of course, it’s easy to teach children about Christmas, with its spotlight on a sweet tiny baby surrounded by animals and shepherds on a clear, starry night. It’s such a “sterile” and “clean” story that even non-Christians are attracted to its power.

But what do we do about Easter? Instead of a baby, we have a bruised and bloodied man. Instead of shepherds in worshipful awe, we have mocking, hate-filled onlookers. Instead of a stable, we have nails, a crown of thorns and a cross. And instead of a story about life, we apparently have a story about, well, death. How do we teach our children that?
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Is ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ suitable for young kids? (Here’s your spoiler-free answer)

December 18, 2015 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Christ, force awakens, God, kids, movie, Parents, star wars

I was five when the first “Star Wars” movie was released, eight when “The Empire Strikes Back” came out, and 11 when “Return of the Jedi” hit theaters. My parents let me watch those latter two films on the big screen, but kept me home for the first one.

Now, some three decades later, I am asking myself the question a lot of parents this month are raising: Should I take my children to see the newest film in the franchise, “The Force Awakens”? And … will they have nightmares for a year if I do let them go?

If you want the spoiler-free answer – or at least this traditional parent’s take on it – then keep reading.

I watched “The Force Awakens” with a critical eye on opening day, and after talking with a few other parents in the theater lobby, came to this conclusion: I would not take a 3- or 4-year-old kid to see it. I might take a 7-year-old to watch it. I would take a 10-year-old to see it – that is, if the kid is discerning.

My oldest children are 7 and 3 (nearly 4). I know this film would terrify my almost-4-year-old son, and there are a few scenes that potentially could give my 7-year-old son some bad dreams. But I am considering taking him to it, with the understanding that I need to shield his eyes in at least two specific scenes (both involving Kylo Ren).

Of course, every child is different, and you may have a 6-year-old who is mature enough to view it with no problem.

But it is rated PG-13 for a reason. Comparing its violence and “scary” content to the other films, it is less violent and less scary than “Revenge of the Sith” (PG-13) and at least as violent and scary as “Return of the Jedi” (PG, but likely would have garnered a PG-13 if that rating had existed). If your child handled “Return of the Jedi” with no problem – even the spooky Emperor-Luke-Darth battle at the end – then you’re probably fine. But if not, then you may want to keep the kids home. “The Force Awakens” is more violent and more scary than the first “Star Wars” film and “The Empire Strikes Back.”
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3 ways to raise modest kids (in an immodest world)

August 13, 2015 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged beauty, Bible, Children, Christ, clothes, girls, God, modesty, Parents

I’m not sure when parents began debating the so-called “sheltering” of children, but I’m pretty sure the conversation became far more significant when television was invented—that is, when we allowed culture to invade our lives.

I tend to fall into the let’s-shelter-our-kids camp—at least for youngsters—but I’ve come to a simple conclusion: It’s impossible. For instance …

My 3-year-old daughter and I recently were sitting at the newest restaurant in town, sharing a Reuben sandwich and a plate of fries while coloring our favorite animals, when her eyes caught the image on one of the overhanging TV sets.

“Daddy, she’s naked!”

I took a quick look at the television to see what she was referencing—it was, if you’re curious, “Entertainment Tonight”—and then told her in a reassuring voice, “You’re right. We need to pray that woman finds some clothes.”

Legally and technically, my daughter was wrong: The woman, a model, wasn’t naked. But biblically and practically? My daughter was right on the mark. And I was proud of her.

God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skin in the garden (Genesis 3:21), but ever since, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch and every other designer and store have been trying to remove it, inch by inch. Their creations in ritzy New York studios create a domino effect: sold in stores, bought by teens, and then returned by parents. But it’s not just Christian families who have weekly “you’re not going out like that!” arguments. This issue crosses ideological and cultural boundaries.

Scripture says we are to kill desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:24) but immodesty does just the opposite, bringing it back to life and encouraging its captives to strut around like a boastful half-naked peacock.

Of course, we shouldn’t simply blame fashion designers for this problem. Their clothes wouldn’t have gone over well with, say, the Pilgrims or even Colonial Americans. We as a society buy those clothes, and this issue often is a matter of the heart.

Still, there are practical steps parents can take to raise modest children in an immodest world. Here are three:
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