A few weeks ago, I wanted to surprise my family by having dinner made and ready for them when they got home. I thought it would be a nice gesture and it would be a great time to catch up from the busyness of life. When I got home I went through the pantry and realized that I didn’t have everything I needed. So, I quickly jumped in my car and went to the store to grab the items that I needed. By the time I got home and starting cooking, I realized I only had 30 minutes to prepare and to set the table. I panicked but got right to it. It was me against the clock and the pressure was on. I know for many of you, you are probably thinking, who cares, it’s the thought that counts. You’re right, so what If I was a couple of minutes behind schedule, my family was appreciative of my kindness but most of all they were happy to have me there with them to enjoy the meal.
However, for many parents, “the pressure” isn’t necessarily getting the dinner ready by a certain time. For most parents, it’s the pressures of parenting. Parents are struggling today because of what their teens are struggling with: social, racial, sexting, depression, suicide, pregnancy, school, bullying, sexual orientation, COVID, the list goes on. The struggle is real and parents are trying their best to keep it all together. It’s confusing, frustrating, and at times just simply overwhelming.
We all face some type of pressure. Recently we hosted a Parent/Teen Summit and had the privilege of inviting Mark Gregston as our keynotes speaker. He started off with a question, “What can I do to become a better parent”? Talk about pressure. The room was silent, and as he began to talk about the pressure of parenting teens in today’s culture – parents begin to perk up because he was talking their language.
Mark brought the conversation to the room by comparing parenting styles from today versus 50 years ago. The results were unanimous – everyone agreed it’s different. Parenting is hard these days, but it’s also rewarding. The challenges and the pressures that our kids are facing today are complex and scary. How do we as parents navigate through that? How can we support them? How do I let my child knows that I love them? Even though there are differences and challenges, Mark challenged us to build a solid foundation on the following principles:
- Listen
- Talk
- Have Perspective
- Trust
This is a foundational truth that we can still use no matter what the times we are living in. The culture around us will change, we live in an ever-ending changing society. No matter how much change will occur; we can always listen, talk, have perspective, and trust.
For more information about Mark Gregston, click here.
Jason Kegebein
