Day 23: Parenting All-Round Teenagers in the GEN-Z Era 

The greatest known parent is God, and this makes sense from the understanding of the scripture that God was expecting Godly seeds from our union (Malachi 2:15). It means the very purpose of our coming together is to give God more children that He can parent through us. The scripture states, “Our children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be their peace.” (Isa 54:13). This perspective should make us see our parenting as a partnership with God, one that we must take seriously and do intentionally.

The explosion of information and access to multiple tools such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been predicted since the Bible days - “knowledge will increase” (Daniel 12:4). While this growth and development are important and beneficial in many ways, we must be aware of the ills that accompany information explosion and the telling implications on the world we and our children live in. Today, the potential to move away from God and His truth is more real and troubling. Unfortunately, the Western repercussions of the Enlightenment are gradually being incorporated into the social norms and patterns in less developed nations such as Africa, a trend that ministers of God must be very concerned about. 

And regardless of generation, including Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) and the new Gen Alpha (Born 2012 to 2024), God expects everyone to know His standards and to live by them. So, the question is - how can we ensure that our children know God’s standards and live by them? To parent this generation, we must continue to live and apply godly principles. These include:

1. We must continually ask God for wisdom (James 1:5). He is not limited by time, so His wisdom is always timely.

2. We must always pray for, with, over and about our children. Prayer is the most incredible way to partner with God on our children’s matters (Jer .24:7)

3. We should ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in relating with our children. He can show us things that we do not know (Jer. 33:3)

4. We must set the example of godly living for our children and their friends (1 Timothy 4:12-13). Children do what they see and not just what they are told.

5. If we love them, we must not hold back on correction and discipline (Proverbs 3:12).

6. We must trust God for appropriate parenting strategies (Isaiah 55: 8-9). For example, it should not always be the traditional way of disciplining. God’s way transcends our cultural way of doing things. We must entirely depend on God, knowing that His ways and thoughts are far different from ours.

7. We must be humble to relate with our children as Christ would, as friends and people who care about them and their interests (Matthew 19:14). We should be vulnerable to them as an example. We also should know and relate with their friends.

8. We must set boundaries of what our children can or cannot do and where they can or cannot go (Matthew 7:13-14). 

9. We must not treat all knowledge as evil but be willing to learn from godly aligned tools on parenting.

Mrs. Busola Adegbenjo

The case of immigrant parents overseas is exceptionally tougher. We are far away from the extended family support system. Childcare bills can be unbearable. And regular bills continue to soar. Also, we have to cope with the continual demands from extended families and friends at home, especially with the worsening economic hardship. Thus, we run the risk of continuously working (extra shifts) to balance all ends, and we forget our primary catchment - our biological children. Please be deliberate about spending quality time with your children and teenagers; don’t sacrifice them to balance extended family commitments.

© Selah Series 2024