Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

When Kids Go to Bed

Neither of my kids ever understood my logic. Both of them failed to see why they had to go to bed when I was tired.

When Kids Want to Mow the Lawn

Any child who is anxious to mow the lawn is too young to do so.

Definition of Baby Sitters

A baby sitter is a teenager acting like an adult while the adults are out acting like teenagers.

Teens Want Boundaries

?They really want and expect rules. Seventy-five percent of one group of teens stated that ?obedience and respect for authority are the most important habits for children to learn.? ?More than 50 percent of them felt that their parents, schools, churches and law-enforcement agencies coddled them too much.? Hazen G. Werner

Research: Authoritative Parenting

Building on earlier studies of white, middle- class youths, recent research shows a connection between parental autoritativeness and teen maturity. Seeing that 10,000 youths from diverse backgrounds were surveyed, this research "trancends ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and family structure." "Authoritative leadership in the home is not to be confused with "authoritarianism." Authoritative parenting corresponds to three factors: (1) Acceptance and involvement pertains to the teen's perception of parental love and responsiveness. A sample test item: "How often does your family do something fun together?" (2) Firm Control assesses parental monitoring and rules. Questions like "How much do your parents try to know where you go at night?" indicate intentional limit-setting and concern. (3) Psychological autonomy points to non-coercive, democratic discipline; it encourages adolescents to express their individuality in the family. The negativity-stated questions include: "How often do your parents answer your by saying something like 'You'll know better when you grow up'?" and "When you get a poor grade in school, do your parents try to make your life miserable?" The payoffs? Researchers claim four : higher grades, more self-restraint, less worry and depression, and reduced tendency toward delinquent behavior. ("Journal of Research on Adolescence", vol.1, no.1, 1991)

Need for Affection and Touching

A free-lance reporter from the New York Times was interviewing Marilyn Monroe years ago. She was aware of Marilyn?s past and the fact that during her early years Marilyn had been shuffled from one foster home to another. The reporter asked Marilyn, ?Did you ever feel loved by any of the foster families with whom you lived?? ?Once,? Marilyn replied, ?when I was about seven or eight. The woman I was living with was putting on makeup, and I was watching her. She was in a happy, so she reached over and patted my cheeks with her rouge puff...For that moment, I felt loved by her.? Promiscuous men and women, women who work as prostitues, and women who repeatedly have unwanted pregnancies have told researchers aht their sexual activity is merely a way of satisfying yearnings to be touched and held. Dr. Marc Hollender, a noted psychiatrist, interviewed scores of women who have had three or more unwanted pregnancies. Overwhelmingly, these women said that they were ?consciously aware that sexual activity was a price to be paid for being cuddled and held.? Touching before intercourse was more pleasurable than intercourse itself, ?which was merely something to be tolerated.? In a similar study with homosexual men, a common characteristic they shared was the absence of meaningful touching by their fathers early in life. Dr. Ross Campbell, in his excellent book, How to Really Love Your Child, comes to a similar conclusion. He writes, ?In all my reading and experience, I have never known of one sexually disoriented person who had a warm, loving, and affectionate father.? (From the collection of Barry St. Clair)

We Teach Our Children Little on Money

"Parents and teachers spend 18 to 22 years preparing youth for occupations but generally less than a few hours teaching children the value and use of they money they will earn during their careers." (Dayton, Howard, Your Money Counts, Tyndale House Publishers: Wheaton, IL, 1996, p. 118.)

Fathers Neglecting Children

"Fathers in our country spend less time with their children than fathers in almost every other nation of the world. Fathers currently spend an average of only 37 seconds per day communicating with their sons." (Dayton, Howard, Your Money Counts, Tyndale House Publishers: Wheaton, IL, 1996, p. 124)

TV Wins Over Fathers

"By the time the typical teenager graduates from high school, he has spent 10,800 hours in class and 15,000 hours in front of the ?tube.? Children spend more time watching television (30 to 50 hours a week) than any other activity except sleeping. A recent survey asked children if they would rather give up television or their fathers. More than two out of five, 44 percent, responded that they would forsake their fathers. (Dayton, Howard, Your Money Counts, Tyndale House Publishers: Wheaton, IL, 1996, p. 125)

Why Grandchildren are Spoiled

Grandchildren are spoiled because you can't spank the Grandma! Bumper Sticker

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