Parents, what protective walls can you set up to prevent a gushing sewer line of threats from emptying into the lives of your children? As parents, we want to shield our teens from these threats, but how?

1. Walls that Guard Hearts to Protect Thoughts and Emotions

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Between bullying and social media, teens need hearts that can remain steadfast in faith. In the United States, about 1 in 5 teens has an anxiety disorder, approximately 1 in 12 experiences a major depressive episode, and around 1 in 20 teens has seriously considered suicide. Additionally, about 1 in 3 teens become a victim of violence or bullying.

2. Walls that Guard Compassion and Promote Peacemaking
Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Teach teens to be compassionate. About 1.5 million teens are homeless in the United States, with approximately 17% living in poverty, and around 1 in 7 facing daily abuse or neglect. Therefore, encourage them to be kind not merely in response to others’ kindness but because they possess kindness within.

3. Walls that Preserve Self-Control and Purity

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 says, “For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you knows how to control his own body in holiness and
honor.”

Teens need walls to maintain purity until marriage. About 1 in 4 teens engage in premarital sex before graduating from high school. Furthermore, in the United States, roughly 1 in 4 teens have sent or received criminally chargeable sexually explicit images and/or have contracted sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HPV, which can lead to infertility, chronic health problems, and even death.

4. Walls that Safeguard God’s Plan and Promote Sobriety

Psalm 139:13-16 says, “For you formed my inward parts; you
knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Knowing they are God’s creation, that He has a plan for them, and that He is always watching over them can prevent them from jeopardizing their future. In terms of statistics, teen drug use in 2020 revealed that about 20.1% reported using an illicit drug in the past month, while alcohol use among teens in 2020 showed that approximately 29.3% of high school students reported drinking
alcohol in the past 30 days.

Friend, are you constructing these walls in the lives of your children?