Lifting you up
as you raise them up
Park Parents is a space for us to come alongside you as parents and raise you up as you raise up the next generation of Jesus-followers.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
Park Parents Recommended Resources
Do you feel overwhelmed and unsure where to look for some sound parenting advice? We get it! Here are some great places to start. Check back. We’ll update them as we discover more.
Celebrating Lent With Littles
How can we make Easter about more than bunnies and candies for our kids? Some ideas below! Adapt them as you wish to make your own Christ-filled Easter and Lenten traditions:
A Lenten Paper Chain
Have your kids help you color and cut strips of paper for how many days there are left of Lent (You don’t need to start from day one! Start right where we are in Lent). You can make them all purple (the traditional color of Lent) or many colors. You could assign special colors to special days in Holy Week (green for Palm Sunday, Red for Good Friday; etc). You could even write a Bible verse in each one if you want. At dinner or breakfast take down one link of the chain together like an Advent Calendar and have a visual reminding you of the days leading up to Easter.
Resurrection Eggs
Give your child the gift of eggs that each hold a piece of the story of Holy Week. You can talk them through it and then as they get used to them, you can ask them as they open each one: “And why is there a donkey?”; etc. A great interactive way to talk about the story of Easter together! And it ends with an empty egg to share the good news that the tomb was empty too!
Break Bread Together on Maundy Thursday
Try your hand at homemade bread or pick up some fresh or par-baked bread and break it together and talk about the Last Supper Together. If you want an easy homemade recipe, here’s a super easy one. The a sprinkle of rosemary can be a little reminder of the crown of thorns. The holes you poke in the bread before you break it can be a reminder of the holes in his hands and his feet. Light some candles and be present to one another and break bread together and share the story of Jesus’ hardest day so that we would never be alone in our hardest days.
Books
Habits of the Household
by Justin Whitmel Earley
A book that helps families think about the little everyday rhythms we do as formational liturgies in which we shape the culture of our home. What if it isn’t the huge stuff but the little attainable everyday stuff?
Parenting: Getting It Right
by Andy & Sandra Stanley
Written by Pastor Andy Stanley and his wife, they help parents to work together to identify their “North Stars” of what they want to parent their children towards. (For them, their primary stars were their kids’ relationships with Jesus, their siblings, and their parents.)
Raising Passionate Jesus Followers
by Phil & Diane Comer
Focuses on a metaphor of building a house and has wisdom for specific focuses in each age and stage of raising up your child in faith.
The Tech-Wise Family
by Andy Crouch
About putting tech in its rightful place and cultivating a home with a healthy relationship with technology, courage, wisdom, and creativity.
The Worry-Free Parent:
Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too
by Sissy Goff
If you consider yourself an anxious parent (who isn’t these days), put your oxygen mask on and read this book by Christian counselor Sissy Goff who will help you be a more peaceful presence for yourself and your family in this ever anxiety-ridden world.
The Whole Brain Child
by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D.
The Whole Brain Child helps parents understand what is going on neurologically with their kids and provides them tools to help parent them through the different neurological states that they encounter. The writers are excellent and do a great job making a complex topic understandable. The tools provided are very helpful.
Hold Onto Your Kids
by Gordan Neufeld & Gabor Maté MD
How building a strong relationship with your kids helps guide and protect them from peers being their main source of identity and formation. Though not an explicitly “Christian” book, the authors cite the teachings of Jesus multiple times and their clinical perspective is invaluable.
1-2-3 Magic
by Thomas Phelan PhD
123 Magic is a go-to recommendation for parents with young kids. The book does an amazing job boiling down a lot of parenting concepts into elegant strategies that are immediately helpful.
Risen Motherhood
by Emily Jenson & Laura Wifler
How the Gospel speaks to all aspects of parenthood from your marriage, birth, postpartum, food choices, self care, and all the everyday aspects of motherhood.
Children’s Books
Good Pictures, Bad Pictures Jr
by Kristen Jenson
Young children deserve to be armed early against internet dangers. Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr. makes it easy for parents to protect their young kids ages 3 to 8. Using gentle, age-appropriate messages, children will learn to Turn, Run & Tell when they are accidentally exposed to inappropriate content.
Good Pictures Bad Pictures
by Kristen Jenson
Want a comfortable way to talk with your kids about pornography? This newly revised edition of the original bestseller from Defend Young Minds makes that daunting discussion easy! Good Pictures Bad Pictures is a read-aloud story about a mom and dad who explain what pornography is, why it’s dangerous, and how to reject it. (Ages 6-11)
Podcasts
Intentional Parents
A multi-generational conversation podcast about parenting and discipleship with Brook & Elizabeth Mosser and her parents Phil & Diane Comer
Raising Boys & Girls
Sissy Goff and David Thomas, Christian counselors at a Christian counseling ministry share their wisdom and insights in a show that often feels like a warm hug while making you feel equipped
Curiously Kaitlyn
Kid Bible and theology questions answered by a Biblical scholar who works in kids ministry
Intentional Fatherhood
Brook Moser of Intentional Parenting & Justin Whitmel Earley of Habits of the Household discuss fatherhood and discipleship
Other Resources
Birds & Bees Video Course
INVALUABLE video class talking to your kids about sex and body questions in small everyday “drip drip” conversations. They take one of the scariest parenting topic and encourage, empower, and educate parents. Their Instagram account is just a taste of their wisdom, but dive into the video class for more comprehensive knowledge.