The Next 4 Questions About Parenting Teens
Posted by PhilWelcome back Ridgecrest Summer Camps parents! This is the second part of the interview in a special two-part series.
Dr. Richard Ross, professor of student ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, has always had parent ministry at his heart. He has had numerous contributions to books and resources on student ministry and parent ministry. In a recent issue, Leading Adults sat down with Dr. Ross to discuss his impressions of families with teenagers.
Here are 4 questions that Dr. Ross addresses:
1) How is the teenager-parent relationship different today from in the past?
2) You have a new book out, coauthored with Ken Hemphill, Parenting with Kingdom Purpose. Just what does it mean to “parent with kingdom purpose?”
3) What can adults of older children do to prepare for parenting teenagers?
4) What are three timeless tips you can give to encourage parents of teenagers?
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, parent resourses, Parenting Teenagers, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply
Conversations About Our Treasures
Posted by PhilWe probably both agree that talking with you kids is important. As you talk to your kids this month, we at Ridgecrest Summer Camps hope that these questions will provide a few starting places for you as a parent. Below you will find different questions that are geared for specific age groups.
For Preschoolers
What is your favorite toy?
How does it make you feel when you cannot find your favorite toy?
For Children
What do you love most in the whole world?
How is that like a treasure?
How can we treat God like a treasure?
For Students
How can our possessions keep us from loving God?
What are some things you worry about? How can you give that to God?
If you get any responses that are worth sharing, we invite you to do so below…
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, parent resourses, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Talking to your kids | Leave a reply
3 Questions About Parenting a Teenager
Posted by PhilAs a Camp Ridgecrest or Camp Crestridge parent, you are either a parent of a teen, or you will be soon.
Richard Ross, Ph.D., is professor of student ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. Richard serves as spokesperson for the True Love Waits campaign and is the author or compiler of more than 20 books on student ministry or parenting. For more information about Parenting with Kingdom Purpose, see www.kingdomparent.com .
Dr. Ross addresses some key questions that many of us are asking…
1) By the time parents have teenagers, they have years of experience being a parent. So why is parenting a teenager so hard?
2) If the needs of teenagers differ from the needs of children, how can parents know what their teenagers need and when those needs shift?
3) If the relationship between parents and teenagers has been difficult, what can parents do to make the relationship better?
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, parent resourses, Parenting Teenagers, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply
Campers: Then and Now
Posted by PhilHaving spent 35 years working in the camping field (40 if you count 5 summers in my hometown for three weeks each summer), one question I am often asked is “Have you seen a lot of changes in children/youth through the years?” The answer to that would be, “yes and no”. Of course children have changed, as the world has changed. Because of greater access to the world through television and the internet, I think children are a lot more worldly-wise at a younger age than they were 35 years ago. I believe this generation of youth take things a bit more seriously overall than we did when I was a child, or maybe it was just me that was less serious! The tendency seems to be to grow up faster than when I was growing up. I guess in many ways, this is a good thing, but we still need to make sure children have a childhood… and a positive one.
I still see lots of similarities in the children and youth of today and those of yesteryear. They still have a curiosity about nature and the outdoors, and want to learn about those things. The difference is there aren’t as many opportunities for them to do so in our urban/suburban lives. Camp is the perfect place for this! Young folks still look up to older kids and adults, and seek out role models to pattern their lives after. Some of them get lucky and find great positive role models. Others make poor choices for mentors and role models, and thus grow up with more negative influences. Again, camp can facilitate this need in their lives by providing counselors who are positive, loving influences. And most young people still have an innate desire to answer the question “What is my purpose here in this world?” What a tremendous opportunity we have to share with them about God and his plan for their lives!!!
Children will always be children, and will always be curious, crazy, concerned, and cautious… our role is to help them along as best we can, and to provide them with positive experiences that they can hold as a foundation as they grow into adulthood. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child up in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” There is no greater challenge, and no great responsibility than that.
Ron Springs
Camps Director
Ridgecrest Summer Camps Staff 1976-present
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, camping, parent resourses, Proverbs 22:6, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Ron Springs | Leave a reply
Parenting from the Ground Up
Posted by Phil“It wasn’t until we moved across the country that I learned I was a good mother. Before we moved, I had a friend whose words about my failed parenting stung me. I coddled those words, believed them. After all, I was a first-generation Christian parent. I grew up in a home I didn’t want my children to experience. I was bound to mess up. I worried incessantly that I’d ruin my children’s lives. I pictured them grown up, sitting across from a counselor. “Well, everything would be fine in my life,” my child would say, “if it hadn’t been for my mother!”’
Read more… Written by Mary E. DeMuth
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, parent resourses, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Talking to your kids | Leave a reply
Conversations About Being Thankful
Posted by PhilBelow are a few Conversation Starters for your kids! We have given you a different type of question for the different age groups. We hope that this will help you as you continue to point your kids towards Jesus!
For Preschoolers
Start sentence prayers with your preschooler by saying, “Thank You God for…” and let him or her finish the sentence.
What are some things you can share?
For Children
What are some things God has given you?
How can you say thank you to God?
Who should we give to?
Who are some people we should help?
For Students
Besides saying the words thank you, how do we show gratitude to God for the things He has given us?
What is something you have that would be hard to give up?
When living in luxury, what is a good amount to give to those in need?
Let us know what you think about these questions below…. If you had a great response from your child, we’d love for you to share it here!
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, parent resourses, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Talking to your kids | Leave a reply
4 Stay-Sane Strategies for Parents
Posted by PhilIt’s not just that they were trying to be difficult, or push your buttons. There is more behind it than that. Learn how brain research in teens has taught us more about why your kids do what they do. (That’s right, there may be an explanation after all.) There are areas of the brain — not surprisingly, the ones responsible for things like planning ahead and weighing priorities — that continue to develop well into their 20s.
Read, Inside the Teenage Brain by Judith Newman.
Enjoy the read… it may make you feel better…
Phil Berry
Assistant Director, Camp Ridgecrest
Parent of Piper and Lily
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, parent resourses, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply
Loving Your Kids On Purpose
Posted by PhilA title like that gets your attention doesn’t it? It got mine, what do I accidentally love my daughters? Well, I suppose I do sometimes. And other times I love them because I can’t help it. And then, the more I thought about it, I realized that there are lots of times when I decide to love them. Why? Well, I’m frustrated with them. But they are mine. And just like Jesus chooses to love us when we blow it big time, I choose to love Piper and Lily Berry no matter what they do.
I know this isn’t necessarily ground breaking stuff here. But it does give me the chance to point you to a book that Amy and I are reading in our house. I think we might have to read it a few times because it’s such a shift in thinking….it is redefining the way we love and discipline our kids. So, I invite you to take a look as well…
The title of the book? Yep, Loving Your Kids On Purpose by Danny Silk. This link is to Amazon where you can even pick up a used copy…
As I begin the New Year, I like the idea of “fresh” things. Fresh goals, fresh calendars, fresh ideas… why not a fresh look at the way we discipline and love our kids. One last disclaimer…I’m still thinking through these ideas. We have tried some of them in our home, and they work very well. But we have by no means mastered the philosophy of the book….
Enjoy! And let me know what you think about the book…
Phil Berry
Assistant Director
Dad to Piper and Lily
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, Danny Silk, discipline, Loving Your Kids On Purpose, parent resourses, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply
“Conversation Starters” Are Coming…
Posted by PhilAs a parent, we have very unique roles with our kids. Especially while they are young, we get to talk to them more than anyone else. And then as they grow up, unfortunately, we slowly lose this privilege.
So no matter what stage of childhood our kids are in, we can always use a little cheat sheet to help have those important conversations. Some of these “Conversation Starters” may be perfect for you, and some may not be as beneficial the day you read them. Regardless, we plan to post a new Coonversation Starter about once a month, usually on the first Wednesday of the month.
Each post will give a separate question for Preschoolers, for Children, and for Students, all worded so that they can understand it. And we hope that this will be just one more way that we can partner with you as you raise your amazing kids! Thanks for letting us be a part of what the Lord is already doing in your family.
Any questions or concerns? I’d love to hear from you, one parent to another.
Phil Berry
Assistant Director
Parent of Piper and Lily
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, Conversation Starters, parent resourses, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Talking to your kids | Leave a reply
The only way he can get to camp….
Posted by Phil
Ridgecrest Scholarships from hgriffin on Vimeo.
Did you know how easy it is to help another child experience camp this summer….or next summer? Take 5 minutes to meet a few current campers… Or you can visit www.ridgecrestcamps.com/give.
Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Scholarships | Leave a reply