When I think of my own life as a teen and what put the guardrails up to guide me in moral and relationship choices; it was not specific instruction regarding what to do in certain situations which was helpful It was something else entirely.
Guideline #2: Instill in them early the idea that God has special plans for their life.
From the time I was a little boy both my parents, but my dad especially, kept telling me God had special plans for me. I do this for Soren and Acacia nearly every night when I tuck them in. It reinforces their identity as special and chosen and hopefully fortifies them against peer pressure and temptation later on.
If we do this well and early on and we can give our kids a guiding identity. Wise choices flow out of who they are and who God has made them to be instead of mom and/or dad's rules. Easier to say "no" when you feel deep down that to say "yes" would be to jeopardize something God is planning to do in your life.
In my 3 years as a youth pastor, and then my years since in working alongside those who work with youth, I have found this guideline is true. Of course not all the time, there are other factors. But I have found where there is a kid who has the ability to say no to negative peer pressure there is often present the seed of a deep sense of CALL planted by a parent early on and then continuously watered over the years.
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