Why is it important to have other adults in our kids’ lives?
As our children grow, develop, and go through their natural life phases, we know that they need guidance. Like most parents, I know I’m no expert in every area of life. That’s why we must find other godly men and women that we can point our kids toward.
I learned of a great resource that might be interesting to those of you who are here for the love of your younger Noble Warriors. Mama Bear Apologetics is a group of women “unified by the common desire to engage in conversations related to the defense of our Christian faith in a way that reflects grace and truth.” They have a plethora of resources available for parents who desire to train their children in critical thinking and to view the world through a scriptural lens.
I haven’t reviewed all their resources, but one recent podcast episode on mentoring caught my attention. The host is a mom of all boys, and she interviews the head of Daughters of Our Living Lord and Savior, a ministry for girls. Both discuss how crucial it is for our kids to have other godly, trustworthy, reliable adults for our kids to look up to. I’d encourage you to take a listen, and I wanted to pass along a couple of my takeaways from these ladies that boil down to three great reasons our kids need mentors too.
3 Reasons Kids Need Mentors Too
1. It’s part of their natural developmental stage to spread their wings and begin to separate from mom and dad.
We need to start facilitating mentorship in their lives so they learn to do that in a healthy way. Grown adults who still act like children haven’t had these milestones met. They haven’t learned how to make that healthy transition from mom and dad to independence.
Teens want to stretch the umbilical cord and see what they are capable of without their parents. As parents, we have a hard time seeing our kids as anything but kids. Mentors see our kids through a lens we do not see through and can nurture their spiritual development and help them flourish into godly adults. They raise the bar and draw something out of them in a way that is difficult for parents to do.
2. It teaches teens to develop the art of finding reliable resources in their lives.
Parents cannot and should not be their all in all. We are preparing them for the rest of their lives, and we won’t always be there. They need to begin recognizing other godly Christians and learning how to reach out and connect with them. As teens test whether they can live without mom and dad, they need to leverage the wisdom and experiences all around them.
3. It keeps kids from taking advice from the wrong sources.
Your kids aren’t going to ask you all their questions, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking for answers. They will go outside of you and talk to others about things they won’t talk to mom and dad about. Encourage them in the process of finding others they want to spend time with who you know can offer trustworthy, godly, reliable advice. They will do it with or without your guidance, so help them with it. The alternative is that kids end up counseling each other, or they are being shepherded by strangers on social media.
With mentorship, kids have the opportunity to seek outside counsel, grow, and learn from other people. And when done right, a good mentorship relationship will enhance your parent-child relationship. Don’t be afraid to let your kids spread their wings and begin to rely on other godly men and women in their lives, even if it means they’re leaning a little less on mom and dad. A good mentor will affirm, point back to, and help them realize their parents are wise.
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Proverbs 28:26
DOLLS | Daughters of Our Living Lord & Savior (dollsheadquarters.com)