Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, why are kids fragile? This is prompted by an opinion piece I read in the Wall Street Journal by former senator Ben Sasse, who I just want to say this before I get to the article, is currently dying of cancer. It's a tragic story. Ben, Sasse is a believer. I saw an amazing interview where he talks about his, faith and how he processes his death. And this is one of the things he's using his dying days to do. Write opinion pieces to help parents make better decisions in parenting. What an amazing act of neighbor love. And I think his opinion piece is spot on. Basically, here's what he's saying. American children are increasingly trapped indoors under heavy supervision and usually in front of a screen. A recent Institute for Family Studies, survey showed that 60% of 6 year olds own an Internet connected tablet. 58% of 6 year olds listen this. Are not allowed to play unsupervised in their own yards. Nearly 2/3 of 17 year olds. 2/3 of 17 year olds are not allowed to leave their neighborhood without adult supervision. That's crazy to me. and Senator Sasse is basically saying, look, overprotective parenting is the problem. You know, 40 years ago, if you had suggested to a parent that maybe it wasn't safe to play in your backyard, they would have thought you were crazy. The idea that a 17 year old couldn't leave the neighborhood, please, they had a job back then. They were going to work. What do you mean not leaving the neighborhood? What Senator Sasse is arguing, I think he's so right on. Is the anxiety ridden approach to parenting that my generation is employing. One that doesn't let kids play outside, one that doesn't let them roam the neighborhood is producing anxiety ridden children. See, if mom and dad are constantly stressing them over, what could happen. The big dangers that are out there, the problems that could. Kids learn to live in a constant state of stress. They learn that the only safe choice is to sit on the couch and watch tv. And that's the kind of people they become. Cautious people, not risk taking people, not adventurous people. That doesn't lead to the life that you want for them really or that God wants for them. The truth is, the problem is, you and I as parents, we have to understand that even the experience of negative things is full formative to a Child's character. Consider the words of James, chapter one, who says, count it all, joy brothers, when you experience trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Now listen, James is talking about spiritual trials and how they produce spiritual character. But the principle holds experiencing difficult things actually shapes us as human beings. What's going to happen to your kids outside? They're going to skin their knee. Maybe they'll break an arm. Maybe they'll have an encounter with the neighborhood bully. Those are formative experiences that if you parent them through them, can actually shape them into incredible people. Tough people, people who have experienced adversity and risen above it. Listen, fear is part of the problem. But if I'm honest, I think laziness is too. Kids who sit in front of a tablet are easy to parent. They don't bother you, they. They don't tell. They don't talk about problems. You don't have to get involved with big emotions. You just leave them alone on the couch, check on them every now and then, and they're fine. But that isn't parenting. Parenting is actually navigating the chaotic experiences of life. So this is a rallying cry by Senator Sasse, and I'm joining him this summer. Send your kids outside. Tell them to be home when the sun starts to go down. And when they get home, pour them a drink, get them a cookie, and talk to them about everything that happened. Talk about the neighborhood bully. Talk about the skinned knee. Praise them for the toughness they've shown. Talk about the scary experience they had. Actually do the work of parenting. As Christians who believe in a sovereign God, is he not ultimately in charge of your child's safety? Can anything happen to your child outside of what God allows? Do you trust God? Listen, in Matthew 6, when Jesus talks about anxiety, that's his point. He says, you're worried about your life. And then he says this. But which of you can add a single day. Can I borrow that? Which of us can add a single day to our children's lives by constantly worrying about them? Set them free. Let them live. This summer, I think what you're going to find is you get a healthier, happy, happier kid, a healthier and happier family that is actually really living. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app. Where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!