Three Facts You Need to Know to Connect with Generation Z
Generation Z–as with any generation–is living in a new “narrative.” In today’s world, kids are growing up in a time that is both exhilarating and frightening for them. This is causing changes that can be difficult to understand. In fact, they are so different from older generations that parents and adult leaders can feel both frustrated with them and fearful
Take Heart When Your Kids Don’t Seem to Pay Attention
Every parent, teacher or coach has interacted with students who appeared completely preoccupied with their own little world. For centuries, adults have repeated instructions to children only to have those kids fail to follow through on what they were asked to do. Students today are truly a part of a “distracted generation.” For those of you who are disheartened by
Signs of the Times from the College Entrance Scandal
What can the latest college entrance scandal tell us about the shift in parenting today? Tim Elmore and Andrew McPeak discuss the four parenting trends they have observed on today's podcast. Resources: 12 Huge Mistakes Parent Can Avoid Contact: [email protected] Social: @GrowingLeaders, @TimElmore and @AndrewMcPeak
Four Parenting Strategies for Leading Generation Z
Tim Elmore and Andrew McPeak discuss how parenting has changed today, technology's role in a child's life, and offer four helpful parenting strategies for leading Generation Z. Resources: 12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid by Tim Elmore Contact: [email protected] Social: @GrowingLeaders, @TimElmore and @AndrewMcPeak
What Can Parents Do About Video Game Addiction?
Kids today aren’t addicted to games just because they are fun. There is a real underlying sense of satisfaction that comes from playing games like Fortnite. The only problem is that video games satisfy these desires in artificial ways. Andrew McPeak and Tim Elmore believe that if parents want to help kids understand why they need to turn it off,
Gen Z Slang Terms You Should Know
Do you know the slang terms of this generation? Parents, teachers, coaches, and employers usually don’t need to worry about the new slang terms that students invent and use. It's something that comes with every generation of kids. However, there's one caveat. Some terms can have harmful or double meaning that adults should be aware of. So, what do we
The Best Preparation for Successful Adulthood
Tim Elmore shares the stories of the life-changing experiences he created for each of his children when they turned age thirteen. Labeled as a "Rite of Passage," the five elements that make up these experiences provide parents with a practical look of how to use mentorship and real-life experience to prepare their child for adulthood.
Gender Confusion in our Kids
I am blogging all week about the best questions I received last Saturday when I spoke at a parenting conference at Northridge Church, just outside of Detroit. It was a great day of dialogue and the parents were full of insightful questions. Here is another below. Question: "It seems like I am running into more and more tweens and teens who
Are Video Games Bad?
Last Saturday, I was hosted by Northridge Church who held an incredible parenting conference for 550 parents in the Plymouth, Michigan community. I had a blast, hanging out with such engaged moms and dads who want to lead their kids well. This week, I am blogging about the most common questions I was asked that day. Today’s is a big
Building Relationship Skills in a Texting Generation
On Saturday, I spoke at a parent event hosted by Northridge Church in Plymouth, Michigan. I experienced amazing hosts and 550 receptive parents all day long. During the day, I was asked great questions by moms and dads that I plan to blog about this week. The question below came from a woman who is both a mother and a
Video Post: Interview with Coach Kris Hogan
A few weeks ago, a story made its way across America about a small, private school football team in Grapevine, Texas that did something very unusual. They were scheduled to play a juvenile detention center in football, Gainesville State School the next Friday. They knew that those young inmates would have no one cheering for them in the stands, no
The Top Three Decisions I Made as a Dad
People ask me, almost every time I do a parenting event: what are the top three things you’ve done for your kids as a parent? It’s always a great conversation. I don’t claim to be some sort of parenting guru, but here’s my response to the question. 1. I focused my messages the first five years and last five years
A Missing Ingredient as We Teach and Parent Our Kids
A number of years ago, I made a plaque for my mom and dad. They were feeling a bit discouraged and wondered if they’d failed as parents in certain categories. The wall plaque was a framed piece I had written called: “What My Parents Did Right.” Let me share with you one of the many gifts my mom and dad gave
Tiger Moms: A Whole New Way of Parenting (Part II)
Yep. You read it right. “Tiger Moms” is the term for a whole new brand of parenting in America. Or should I say, a brand that hasn’t been seen in a long time. Yesterday, I blogged about this style and posed the question: Is there something to this? In a day, where we worship self-esteem in our kids, where we give
Tiger Moms: A Whole New Way of Parenting (Part I)
Brace yourself. Stories are leaking about a new way of parenting -- a style that many of the moms who embrace it call: Tiger Moms. According to Time magazine, Amy Chua is one of them. She made her 7-year-old daughter, Lulu, practice her violin for hours on end, straight through dinner and into the night with no breaks, until at last,
Will They Grow Up? (Part II)
Yesterday, I started a list of ideas adults can use to help teens and young adults grow up. Our society, which used to be part of the solution -- is now part of the problem in why these kids stall and fail to mature until their late twenties. These twenty-somethings have gone through our school systems and come out ill-equipped. Somehow,
Helping Our Kids Grow Up (Part I)
I just heard from an admissions staff member at Harvard University. He told me he interviewed a prospective student recently and had an unusual experience. During the interview the student would answer his questions, then look down after each one. The staff member assumed the student was just a bit shy. But, alas, it was something else. He was looking
The 3 Best Kept Secrets to Building Good Relationships with Students
Some stuff you need to know as a leader -- you learn quickly. Others, you just learn over the years. As I travel and speak at schools, corporations, non-profit organizations, and churches, I see adults trying too hard to connect with young people. And there is a gap. Teachers and parents become frustrated at the lack of connection and good
6 Ambitions to Build into our Kids this New Year (Part II)
Yesterday, I started a list of 6 ambitions I believe we must build into our kids. They are targets we should aim for as we teach, employ, lead, and parent the next generation of students. The first 3 are: Know yourself, develop your gift and value people. You may notice that these 6 ambitions are relevant for us adults to
6 Ambitions to Build into Our Kids this New Year (Part I)
Wow. We’ve launched not only a new year, but a new decade. It’s a time for new beginnings. If you are a parent, teacher, coach, youth worker, or employer, you want the best for the kids you lead as you begin a new year. Let me suggest this list of 6 ambitions I’ve tried to build into my kids over
Training Kids in Public (Part II)
This is part two of a blog series for parents on training kids in public. (For part I, click here.) I was asked a handful of questions by a fellow blogger, and thought I’d share my thoughts here on the importance of assuming the role of a mentor and trainer for your children in public. Some parents may just chalk bad
Training Kids in Public (Part I)
I was asked by a fellow blogger to respond to some questions about how parents must learn to train and teach their kids in public. In other words, some of the best learning happens “on the job,” not in a quiet classroom. Here are my responses to specific questions on this subject. How can parents teach their children manners in public
Five Decisions to Help Generation iY Find Their Future
One of the best ways adults can help guide iY youth into their future is to help them think through five critical decisions. Everyone ends up making these decisions, by default or design. But if they’re made on purpose -- and in the right order -- they can become a kind of compass to help them steer a course in
Leading the Next Generation Well: Over-Served
We are in the age of the “Wanted Child.” Sixty years ago, Dr. Benjamin Spock told parents to allow kids to express themselves and build a strong self-esteem. Today, we have taken this to an extreme. These kids most assuredly have developed a strong self-esteem. According to a nationwide high school survey, over 80% believe they are very important people.
Leading the Next Generation Well: Over-Protected
This young generation has grown up with safety seats, safety belts and safety policies on everything. They can’t ride a bike without a helmet, and they stay inside for most of their childhood, in front of a screen. I call them “screenagers.” As parents, we don’t want them out of our sight. We feel we are protecting our future by
Leading the Next Generation Well: Overwhelmed
I am concerned. One word describes millions of young people today better than any other: Overwhelmed. In 2007, the American College of Health Association surveyed the largest randomized sample of students since its inception. It revealed these results: a. 94% of students reported feeling overwhelmed by their lifestyles. b. 44% said they felt so depressed it was almost difficult to function. c. Almost 10%
Student Engagement, Student Success
I just returned from an invigorating day with faculty at a university near Dallas. During our time together, we discussed two themes that preoccupy school administrators as much as any: 1. Student Engagement 2. Student Success In our morning session, one instructor shared a note he’d recently received from a student. The young man had decided to drop out of school. Here’s what
Mountain Climbing
Last month, I hiked up Kennesaw Mountain with my seventeen-year old son, Jonathan. Although it’s only 45 minutes away from our house, we had never climbed this mountain before. It was a blast. We did it as a sort of special father/son time before he takes off for Hollywood to pursue some acting possibilities during the episodic season of
The Lies We Tell our Children
Before I launch into my musings this week--I want to say thanks to everyone who responded to my latest blog post. I left it up for two weeks to allow as many as possible to weight in on my question. Several dozen of you did (many through email, which reveals the world you live in), and I appreciate your thoughts.