Engaging Your Teen's World: Understanding What Today's Youth Are Thinking, Doing, and Watching

by David Eaton, Jeremiah Callihan, Alan C. Briggs (Contributor)

"Netflix and chill," "broccoli," and LGBTTQQIAAP+. If you don't know what these words and phrases really mean to your teen, you are not alone. The verbal terrain of today's youth can be difficult to navigate, and sometimes requires a guide--a culture translator to help parents of teens decipher the codes and unlock the doors to an ongoing conversation about faith and life.David Eaton and Jeremiah Callihan provide just that in Engaging Your Teen's World, teaching you how to maintain open communication about everything from relationships to technology and media in order to help teens grow in their faith and successfully deal with difficult issues. Eaton and Callihan bring a wealth of frontline experience, sharing a big-picture view of your teen's world and how to interact with it, followed by more specific information on · what your teen is thinking, doing, and watching· conversations about sex, gender, porn, sexting, and drugs· being a missionary to your teen· and much moreDespite the many challenges facing teens and their parents, this frank, insightful, and practical book offers a hopeful view toward the long-term goals of your relationship with your teen and for their relationship with the Lord.

Genres: Parenting

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2020

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Engaging Your Teen’s World, David Eaton and Jeremiah Callihan teaches parents how to communicate with your teens, set wise boundaries with social media and devices, and how to have important conversations with your teens. In this book, they explored how times have dramatically changed and now our children have different challenges facing them. They are both founders of Axis, a nonprofit that helps parents and teenagers connect with each other. David shared how he was raised in a stable home and his mother became a stay-at-home mother and his dad worked as a police office. His dad turned down a big promotion where he could stay at home more to spend time with his family. His parents taught him Christian principles and took him to church. He had an open conversation way with his parents. Jeremiah was raised differently and his parents were raised under legalism and fear. His faith grew when he was in a youth group and through along with his parent’s conversations. His parents divorced when he was in his twenties. They opened up about even though they were raised different and they both experienced different things, they were able to form a leadership and they developed a passion on reaching out to teenagers and parents. In the book, they shared how to have important conversations around faith, how dad’s play a critical role in leading their children, and how we can do things with our children to develop open heart to heart communication. The book also covered the topics of smartphones, social media usage, hidden apps, sex, drugs, depression and anxiety, college, and video games.


I would recommend this life changing book on parenting and teaching our teenagers how to become adults. This book would be a great book for parents, pastors, and youth group leaders. I immensely loved how up to date they wrote the book to explain to parents what challenges teenagers face now with social media. It is much easier for teenagers to hide what they are doing from their parents. There are even hidden apps such as a calculator that if you enter a special code kids can hide nude pictures from their parents. App creators are very creative in lurking and deceiving parents and teens. I liked how they explained how parents can use this book to learn the tools they need to know to raise their teenagers in today’s times. I also liked how they discussed the topic of depression and self-harm and tips on staying aware of the signs to watch out for. I also liked how they discussed opioids and used some real-life Hollywood celebrities as examples and how they died from an overdose. I appreciated how open they were in covering the many topics and experiences our teenagers could face in today’s times and how we can help them by having an open conversation and how we can help them to grow in their faith.



"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

[Sarah Poling · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about this book:
The focus of the book- equipping caring adults to connect to our teen's heart and disciple them, as we seek to develop life-long faith.
Biblical concepts infused in the suggestions and strategies- this book is grounded in the Deuteronomy 6 concept- "bind them on your heart" share through your life- heart, soul, and mind.
Organization:
quotes that open each chapter
book is organized into four sections and then chapters with a table of contents
headings throughout the chapters
Practical perspective-where does life happen in your family?
conversations happen where life happens! Car, dinner table, eating out, vacation, games, events...
focusing on the job of the parents to disciple our kids, we are their primary investors
asking good questions but also make sure and have fun.
Beware of conversation killers
speed
close-mindedness
We are too busy, we are too polarized, and we must take the time to engage with our kids, encouraging Dads especially to make the time.
determine if your parenting emergencies/crises for your kids- are really actual emergencies or perceived emergencies?
Be aware of their perspective. Hear them. Be curious as you interact. Continue- repeat regularly.
Become a cultural translator- like Jesus, like Paul model for us.
pray, learn with research and asking questions, and then analyze.
Find how to share the gospel through the lens of this culture. To show the love and the goodness of God- a redemptive parenting approach- the long haul
Topics that we need to engage with our teen about- a whole section of the book.
this section will soon be out of date but yet the concepts and themes are the same as well as how a parent can learn and interact.
themes like sex talk, smartphones, video gaming, anxiety/depression/suicide are teen issues. They will change with the culture and times, but the issues always go back to heart issues.
Hope and a reminder that Parenting is hard. But it's worth it, and we are not alone.
Heart focus- being sensitive, seeking the Word to balance your thinking, focusing on the gospel, and hearing your child, and responding in dialogue, not a one-sided conversation.
resource list by topic at the back of the book
What I wonder:
some parents will have issues with the examples and stories from families of what a teen has gotten into being too far gone or too specific, but I believe the exposure is needed.
will parents really catch and focus on the underlying theme for parents- connect, engage, ask questions, participate, don't be shocked, keep the teen's perspective heard and discuss it with your teen, not melt or argue defensively.
Thankful to partner with Bethany House and review this book valid in my parenting life today.

[Sue Forry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging Your Teen's World by David Eaton & Jeremiah Callihan is an excellent resource for anyone who knows a teen! This book, which comes from the founders of Axis, a ministry which helps parents and teenagers understand each other in teen culture.

The book is divided into parts. The first part is the why behind engaging in teen culture. The second part is the how and finally the actual teen topics. However, as with any book (and the authors share this), any dated material immediatly can become irrelevant after print. BUT this book offers some great why and then touches on the actual topics.

This book is informative for anyone who works with teens or knows a teen! I found it relevant to parents, grandparents, youth pastors and anyone who seeks to understand teen culture better. There is valuable insight shared in this book.

I was given a free copy for the publisher for my honest review. The book comes highly recommended from me for parents of and those who know children ages 8 to 18.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a tough time for most people all around the world. One thing that has been a silver lining is all the extra time we have gotten to spend together as a family. As our kids grow they get busier and have more hectic social lives. I don't know about you, but I want to connect with my teens. But not just the basics, I want us to grow in faith together. This book really helps that. It guides you through some of our current pop culture, and about different conversations to have with you teen. These talks help you to understand each other and God. It is so important that teens look to God for their hope in this world, since He will never let them down. This book does a great job of sharing some topics you may or may not be familiar with, and helps you to have those tough conversations.
Thank you to the publisher for a free copy, I was not required to leave a review.

[Justin Ruszkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

SOLID resource for parents of teenagers, as well as student leaders and ministers. I’m a youth pastor and got a ton of encouragement out of this, but this book is especially designed to be a tool of encouragement and empowerment for parents, because parents are the NUMBER ONE source of discipleship and influence for their kids—at least, this is how it should be!

The last few chapters were more topical, so I didn’t get as much out of it (also being that I’m a 22 year old, I didn’t really need things explained to me like I was out of touch and in my forties, NO OFFENSE!).

Rating: 8/10, four stars!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of helpful ideas, but most of them seem like common sense. Take time to talk with your children. Start at a young age so they continue to talk to you when they’re older. Be interested in what your kids are doing and talk to them so when things start going wrong, they don’t think they’re just trying to talk to them to get information. Show them you love them no matter what and always point out positives, not just the negatives.

[Lisa Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short, easy-to-read book (so four stars may feel generous, but hang with me here). It's also a solid "primer" for parents of teens, full of helpful insight and information in navigating a teen's world. It's a challenge to keep up with all the lingo, let alone figure out the many options your kids are interested in and facing, so this is a good place to start!

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

There wasn’t really any practical advice in this book and it seemed mostly to be promoting a brand rather than giving useful insight and information. I have read a lot of great Christian parenting books and wish I hadn’t wasted my time on this one. 😬

Added note: it looks like most of the 4 & 4-star reviews came from people who received it for free in exchange for a review.

[Ashley at Reading Themes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging Your Teen’s World by David Eaton and Jeremiah Callihan is a non-fiction book for parents. This book is divided by topics relevant to raising teenagers today. This book discusses technology, drugs, sex, and many other subjects. Parenting is a hard job and this is a good guidebook for our technology focused population. I will be using this book as a reference over the next few years as my kids enter their teenage years. Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for this review copy.

[Andy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

you've got to communicate honestly and without judgement. stay in tune with culture and be aware of what your student is doing, listening to and watching. Ask questions and get into their world. I guarantee it will be helpful for you and them.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how to navigate the teen years well by building relationship. Highly recommend.

[Pdaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for raising teens. Wish I read this sooner. Be a 3rd way parent.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a mom of two teen boys and one tween girl, and I’m hungry for trustworthy advice about what’s going on in teen culture. For several years, I’ve trusted Axis for relevant, up-to-date wisdom, and they always deliver. This book is written by the two founders of Axis, who share their personal stories and passion for discipling teens and their parents. I appreciate their no-nonsense approach, which is still delivered with grace. It’s crucial for us to engage with our teens in ways they desperately need, in a culture so different from the one in which we grew up. I’m thankful for the practical, Bible-based guidance in this book which will help me navigate these challenging, yet rewarding, years of parenting my teens.

I received a preview copy of Engaging Your Teen’s World from Bethany House Publishers.

[Anna Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful points to consider as my kids move into the teen years. I'll admit it's scary to think of some of the things my kids may face as they grow up, but I want to be a third way parent (not fight or flight - but engaged) to be able to help them through whatever comes. I see more books on this topic in my future.