https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/rss.xml Teens Copyright https://www.crosswalk.com 2026, Crosswalk.com Mon, 25 May 2026 22:13:07 -0400 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/3-things-every-teen-should-know-about-social-media.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/3-things-every-teen-should-know-about-social-media.html Samuel Byers But there is an uncomfortable truth I sense more and more when using social media. A lurking danger behind all the connecting, content-creating, photo-sharing, and influence-growing. Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:23:00 -0400 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/ways-to-help-your-teen-navigate-social-media-and-peer-pressure.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/ways-to-help-your-teen-navigate-social-media-and-peer-pressure.html Jaime Jo Wright https://www.crosswalk.com/author/jaime-jo-wright/ Oh, the joys of social media and peer pressure! It’s an entirely different world from when I was growing up. I remember having to wait from Wednesday night youth group to Sunday morning Sunday School to talk to my best friend. Now, my daughter can have her BFF in her back pocket all day on video chat if I allow it.It’s a whole new world. So how do we help our teens navigate it? I would argue that a lot of the same parenting advice applies now, just as it did when we were teenagers.Let’s look at some ways that are tried and true and still applicable today, as well as some new things we should consider:Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Hispanolistic Thu, 12 Feb 2026 17:04:09 -0500 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/reasons-not-to-dismiss-your-teens-online-friendships.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/reasons-not-to-dismiss-your-teens-online-friendships.html Jaime Jo Wright https://www.crosswalk.com/author/jaime-jo-wright/ Online relationships come with many red flags. Make no mistake: a quick Google search will provide a parent with all the information necessary to keep them awake for years. With online predators, online peer pressure, and online bullying, it’s like a dangerous maze out there.So nothing can be more nerve-wracking than when your teenager develops online friendships with people they have never met in person. It is very normal and potentially reasonable to make the argument that these are not real friendships. However, we have to take into account the age we live in, and, in fact, some of these online relationships can be very real indeed.In other words, let’s look at this from a different perspective. Let’s ask ourselves, what if God is using online relationships to bring your teenager the community they need? Perhaps these online friendships deserve a closer look before we, as parents, dismiss them as fake or insignificant.My daughter met her best friend online. In fact, they live in different countries. I was extremely skeptical and concerned at first. But instead of dismissing the friendship, and especially instead of making my daughter cut off ties for fear of the friend being “fake,” we took some precautions and safety measures and moved forward together. What we found is not only a wonderful friendship, but one that has extended beyond just my daughter to our entire families.So what should we consider as parents when we’re reviewing our teenager’s online friends and are determining if they are real?Photo credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/sakkmesterke Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:01:18 -0500 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/are-we-overstressing-our-teens.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/are-we-overstressing-our-teens.html Jennifer Slattery https://www.crosswalk.com/author/jennifer-slattery/ With so much at stake, how can we help position our children for long-term success without destroying them in the process? Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:39:00 -0500 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/how-to-help-your-teen-have-a-healthy-view-of-valentines-day.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/how-to-help-your-teen-have-a-healthy-view-of-valentines-day.html Jaime Jo Wright https://www.crosswalk.com/author/jaime-jo-wright/ In reality, Valentine's Day, teenage relationships, and self-esteem often intertwine to become a perplexing maze for parents to navigate. There isn't necessarily one right way to help your teen, but the key is to help your teen. Sun, 01 Feb 2026 11:52:00 -0500 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/5-reasons-gen-z-is-looking-back.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/5-reasons-gen-z-is-looking-back.html Amber Ginter https://www.crosswalk.com/author/amber-ginter/ Gen Z is increasingly gravitating toward life before smartphones and social media, embracing analog trends such as film cameras, vinyl records, and handwritten letters. While it might seem like a hipster trend or aesthetic, this comeback points to a search for deeper meaning and connection in young adults.According to The Standard-Examiner, this movement stems from Gen Z’s struggle to connect with the world around them. While parents and grandparents stumble with technology, young adults want to know how to thrive in a technologically saturated world. What was it like to live without being constantly connected? What was it like to live without a screen two inches from your face?A recent Vocal article notes how analog hobbies give this generation “a sense of purpose, slowness, and tangibility.” These habits and hobbies aren’t just fads—they’re a search for something sacred. So what does this cultural nostalgia teach us about our God-given desire for truth, simplicity, and real relationships?Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Dejan Marjanovic Tue, 20 Jan 2026 10:13:44 -0500 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/things-you-dont-realize-are-negatively-impacting-your-teens-body-image.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/things-you-dont-realize-are-negatively-impacting-your-teens-body-image.html Katie T. Kennedy https://www.crosswalk.com/author/katie-t-kennedy/ There are numerous factors that can impact your teen’s body image, some of which are positive and some negative. As parents, we try to do our best to ensure our children have a healthy view of their bodies.We are all made in God’s image, each unique and special. As a teenager, that can be tough to remember, especially when there are forces working against that truth.We will discuss some of these negative forces affecting your teens’ body image and how we can combat them. Teenagers are in a vulnerable season. They are undergoing significant changes and developments in their brain and bodies, and are influenced by numerous factors around them. Let’s discuss some of these factors.Photo credit: ©Pexels/Alex Green Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:56:45 -0500 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/tools-for-stressed-moms-dealing-with-teen-drama.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/tools-for-stressed-moms-dealing-with-teen-drama.html Vivian Bricker https://www.crosswalk.com/author/vivian-bricker/ Dealing with teen drama can be overwhelming not only for the teenager but also for their moms. While I have never been a mom, I am aware of drama. My main experiences were when I was a preteen, and this caused my self-worth, self-esteem, and self-view to suffer. My “friends” were mean to me and hurt my feelings daily. Whenever my mom would pick me up from school, I would cry and tell her about the events of the day.My mom was quick to tell me that these girls were not my friends. They were “frenemies.” Despite listening to my mom, I still went back to these girls, and they kept repeatedly hurting me. Drama was high, and eventually my mom had to put her foot down. She was not mad at me, but she was disappointed that I couldn't tell real friends from fake ones.After a lengthy conversation with my mom, I finally understood I didn’t want to be around these girls anymore. Years of crying and stress were finally relieved once I listened to my mom and applied her advice to my life. Once I wasn’t spending time with these girls anymore, the drama completely vanished—like magic.Here are six of the tools that my mom shared with me in the aftermath of dealing with drama.Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Anchiy Fri, 05 Dec 2025 10:30:00 -0500 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/things-that-might-surprise-you-about-gen-z-teens.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/things-that-might-surprise-you-about-gen-z-teens.html Tanita Tualla Maddox https://www.crosswalk.com/author/tanita-maddox/ One of my favorite questions to ask Gen Zers is: “What do you hear about yourself in the media or from older adults?” There is a lot of information floating around about Gen Z on many different platforms, so there are a plethora of quotes and sources to choose from. Even so, I hear the same repeated words from my Gen Z friends: weak, snowflake, over-emotional, self-centered, and so on. I have yet to hear a Gen Zer quote anything positive they hear about themselves. Maybe some of us have used these words ourselves to describe our next generation.That’s some bad PR for Gen Z, but there is more to this generation than they are being credited with. We aren’t getting the whole story. What if we paused and took our time to really see Gen Z? There are some things that might surprise us about Gen Z teens:Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Maskot Wed, 29 Oct 2025 13:15:00 -0400 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00 https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/5-areas-of-your-child-s-life-satan-wants-to-enter.html https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/5-areas-of-your-child-s-life-satan-wants-to-enter.html Cindi McMenamin https://www.crosswalk.com/author/cindi-mcmenamin/ Satan wants our children’s hearts. He wants to mess with their minds, deter their dreams, and take their hopes hostage. Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:00:00 -0400 2026-05-25T22:13:07-04:00