Parenting Teenagers Around YouTube
Today’s teenagers have their own source to go to for help: YouTube. There is no denying it, YouTube is here to stay. As Christian parents, we are to point them to the Bible for help; for answers, because that is the right thing to do. There is no denying that either, but we must parent differently with this generation. We must stay a step or two ahead with technology, websites, video, podcasts; all things our teenagers are interested in. I can go on and on with bullet points of parenting teens in a YouTube, iPhone, iPad, video game world, and how to monitor, engage or let’s not “throw the baby out with the bathwater” condemnation, but I’ll leave that for another day.
Today, I want to share with you something that happened recently to keep you a step ahead as parents. Our oldest daughter (14) came to me the other day to talk about a video she watched on YouTube that a “God-fearing, Christian” girl-friend of hers texted (ok, texting, video, YouTube, yep we’re a different momma then our own!).
The topic – What To Do If Your Parents Don’t Let You Date
The YouTube show is called Awesomeness TV. Gabby and I talked about what we heard, what we thought, and where we continue to stand as a family.
People…do this with your teenagers! Find out what’s out there. See the world through their eyes.Remember yourself as a teenager?
I was horrible! My mom and I didn’t have a great relationship. I had the fear of my father whenever I got in trouble. I am thankful, that with God’s grace, parenting looks differently (well except the teenagers have a healthy fear of their father too ;-)) in our home.
Again, be one step ahead. Don’t just find out - do the research. Ask other parents or youth pastors what teenagers are into.
Awesomeness TV gets over 300,000 hits on their shows. Another popular YouTube channel is Bethany Mota. This girl (18) gets over 5 million hits!! Yes, 5 million and has 6.6 million subscribers!
Come on momma’s we can do this.
I personally love watching Charisma Star with my girls. She get’s over 400,000 hits. She is a Christian girl in her early twenties and she talks fashion, beauty, and how much she loves Jesus.
If you have teenage daughters, like I do, you know the words fashion and beauty is in their everyday vocabulary.
Mom’s, lets encourage one another during this time. There is no manual on how-to raise teenagers in a technological world that has been tried and true through experience because it’s been available for generations. We are the first generation to parent our children through websites, videos, iPhones, and iPads.
And, yes, we are going to fail at times but we can’t give up.
We can’t let this devil we fight take over our kids.
We must fight.
We must be one step ahead.
We must parent differently.
Watch the video and let's talk about it by commenting below.
Here are my take-away's of the show:
- Notice the girl that says “do it anyway” relationship with her mother.
- One girl says “you’re probably too young” but throughout the conversation at times agrees with the others. Can we say PEER PRESSURE!!
- Yay!! to the girl that says, “You’re parents are smarter than you think” or “You will have so much time for all of that”.
