LAUNCH into the teen years
Update August 2023: Well this is fun; here we are three years later with a teenager and a few tweens. I am grateful for these resources and going through it for the second time with our two oldest, 11 and 13, and for the first time with our next two, 8 and 10, has been wonderful! My reflections from the first time going through Launch were affirmed in our second round using these materials!
We did not expect to tear up last Sunday night during our final session of LAUNCH into the teen years. The last scene, around a campfire, spoke to the amazing gifts of marriage and sex within godly boundaries.
We deeply desire this joy and freedom for our children, and our hearts ached with this hope and prayer as we closed out the session.
While COVID-19 feels like a long journey without a destination point, the teen years can feel the same way for many families.
Words like sex education, puberty, pornography or sexting can make us squirm.
Hopefully, the tweens in our lives know about deodorant and have a regular shower routine, but cleanliness is the least of their/our worries as we prepare them to launch into their teen years!
There are and will be, incredible young people stepping into their God-given callings, but this only happens with prayer, guidance and grace!
As our sweet babies sweat and blossom, their hearts and minds face greater changes and challenges. If you aren't there yet (we barely are), you may want to cuddle your little bundles of innocence and ignore what I am about to say.
But please don't!
First, here are a few great resources for those with younger children.
God Made All of Me teaches young children how to protect their bodies:
Another excellent book for families to read with their children is: Good Pictures, Bad Pictures—porn-proofing today’s young kids. There is also a junior addition option for younger children.
Many are already deep into these discussions, while others may feel their family is too far gone, but let me remind you that we can start where we are today!
Parenting with intention and foresight is a gift to our children, their future spouses and children.
Taking steps of intentional guidance and grace to help our children navigate the beauty and the struggles in this next season of their life is our role, but the outcome is not in our control.
Despite great parenting and support, each teen will make their own decisions—and some of their choices may break our hearts. My heart goes out to all the parents walking these difficult paths!
Think back to when, where and how your parents talked with you about adolescence, sex and pornography?
Or did they even talk about these things?
Were there ongoing opportunities for open conversation and accountability, or was it a ‘one and done’ awkward talk that left you both red-faced?
These questions are not meant to guilt or judge the previous generation, but to help us consider where to create open, safe and educational environments for our preteens and teenagers to unpack real-life issues together.
While this generation has more resources, it also has more challenges!
Over the summer my husband and I went through LAUNCH into the teen years, by Focus on the Family, with our eight-year-old son and ten-year-old daughter.
We figured we'd rather be a little early, than too late in addressing these topics.
This kit has a parent guide, a journal for the participating tween, and a code sheet to download the awesome six-part video series!
The videos are a feature of the program. Boys’ and girls' teams face adventures and challenges around the camp (like zip-lines, climbing walls, paintball, etc.) and have great discussions with their leaders.
Our active and creative eight-year-old son was highly engaged and liked these presentations. There was competition, action, humour, and fun in each video. Our conscientious ten-year-old daughter asked insightful questions and gave thoughtful answers. We let our kids answer the questions orally, as we didn't want it to feel like schoolwork. We will keep the unused student journal as a reference for our next group of kids.
The Six Topics Covered:
Who Am I?
This session speaks to the deep need for understanding our identity as revealed in God’s word, and how our emotions play into the teen years.
The One about Friends and Other Enemies
This topic challenges how we build healthy relationships with friends and family and boy-girl relationships. It also speaks to peer pressure.
Of Memes and Meanies
The third session dives into how the misuse of social media and the internet can cause depression, anxiety, and deep pain.
About Male and Female
Here we celebrate the differences between males and females, from a biblical perspective.
What's Happening to My Body?
There was an opportunity for boys and girls to have separate conversations about the changes in their bodies. We met with our daughter and son separately and brought them together for some video and discussion time. The leaders tactfully described in detail all the necessary components of the changes in the body in preparation for procreation.
The Big Talk
As I mentioned at the start, this was a very special evening for us. The final session celebrates the gift of sex and shares the purpose and heart of how having sex within the bounds of marriage honours God's design, using a campfire metaphor!
Extra Tips!
To accomplish this series, we carved out six Saturday or Sunday evenings over the summer and would settle our younger children first, so this was a special time for just the two oldest.
Since our six children are pretty close in age, we will most likely continue to do this when the two middle girls turn eight and ten, and again when our youngest boys reach this age. The third time we should be pros, right?
We also expect our younger ones will tune into many open conversations in the years ahead as they watch their older siblings transition into the teen years.
While many of these topics were a review for our children, there were some new conversations started, and this comprehensive approach ensured we weren't missing anything, as our children are not attending a health class at school.
We want to be intentional in using mentoring/training sessions with good resources over the years, while naturally weaving these conversations into everyday life.
As a homeschooling family in Alberta, Canada we can submit the receipt for resources like these and get refunded, as long as they fit into our program plan. These resources would fit under health, religion, science, or even language arts if you had your child do the writing parts in the journal!
I would love to hear how you are, or have, prepared your tweens for the teen years.
Let us know of your favorite resources in the comments!
If you have children, grandchildren or friends who may benefit from any of the resources I shared, please pass this on as a support.
It is so beautiful watching our children grow into young people. I pray a deep trust and courage will grow in our hearts through these mentoring times.
Continue to fight the good fight for this next generation of kingdom builders!