BOOKS
Take a Big Breath
Australian Author, Shauna Gallagher, has 20 relaxation exercises that are bible based for kids.
She writes, “In my practice, I see so many children with stress and worry. It’s really upsetting to see a child overtaken by anxiety, and worse still if you are the parent. It can leave us powerless and helpless and is a source of stress for ourselves.”
Beautifully illustrated it can be bought here.
Raising Kids With Faith
Buy Here for $5 – Discounts apply for bulk orders
The ideas in this book are from Australian parents who have proven that it is possible to nurture a child’s developing spirituality in the course of everyday family life. It’s a vital resource for parents of under 12’s because the faith development of kids is too important to leave to chance.
Spiritual Parenting
This is a book on how to create an environment where spiritual truths can become part of your child’s identity. Rather than focusing on behaviour management like many parenting books, Anthony’s focus is on inner transformation. The stories she uses are honest and authentic. Anthony asks, “What would it look like if we parented a generation of young people who were defined not by what they didn’t do but by what they did… Without this supernatural transformation we may have moral or obedient children, but we don’t necessarily have spiritual children.” Looking at various environments parents can create to put their child on the path of the Devine; Anthony gives empowering direction to meeting the goal of nurturing our children in their spiritual lives.
Loving Our Kids on Purpose
Silk suggests that for many parents our goal is to get children to obey and comply. Loving our Kids on Purpose makes the goal relationship. This is not however a ‘how to get your child to be your friend’ guide. It is a how-to manual for helping your child choose for themselves to take responsibility rather than just comply with your orders. Based significantly on the work of Foster Cline and Jim Fay and the importance of natural consequences and empathy, this book revolutionized my parenting.
Different Children, Different Needs
“Too often we assume that what is ‘best’ means that our children should live their lives according to the script that has worked for us. Without realizing it, we try to create carbon copies of ourselves.” Dr Boyd takes the D.I.S.C. model (a behavioural style tool) and applies it to parenting. His main premise is that each of us is uniquely wired but as parents we can fall into the trap of parenting children to our own behavioural style without accounting for theirs. This book is particularly helpful where those styles are opposite and we find ourselves clashing or frustrated with our child.
The Resilience Doughnut: The Secret of Strong Kids
By Lyn Worsley
Resilience is the word when it comes to raising children today and while it may be the goal, how to get there is not always obvious. Clinical psychologist Lyn Worsley has developed a simple and practical resilience-building tool which she outlines in this book. Worsley looks at beliefs and then outlines seven factors that are found in kids who face adversity with resilience. She asserts that focusing on areas of strength helps adults right through to children as young as 5 to see that it is possible to thrive despite difficult circumstances. Easy to read and a helpful way of thinking.
Growing Great Families
Authors of several excellent parenting books, Ian and Mary Grant offer readers plenty of great ideas about setting the culture and atmosphere of your family. The Grants paint a picture of family as a team and children as contributors, not just takers. Extremely practical and written with children from the early years right through to the teen years in mind, it is a book you can come back to again and again.
WEBSITES
Get OWT
Outdoors With Toddlers
Get OWT! is a family-oriented programme that uses nature to nurture little ones. Use the session outlines as a starting point to help deliver an exciting and engaging outdoor experience for toddlers and their carers, whilst keeping safe and socially distanced.
Sticky Faith
www.stickyfaith.org
Most parents would give anything to anchor their children with a vibrant faith that “sticks” and continues to mature long-term. Yet despite this deep desire, research indicates that approximately 40-50% of high school seniors drift from their faith after graduation. In response to this problem, the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) has launched the College Transition Project, a national longitudinal study following 400 high school seniors during their first three years in college. This provocative and needed research is geared to spark a movement that empowers parents, churches, leaders, and adults of all ages to develop robust and long-term faith in kids. Sticky Faith offers practical resources for parents and youth leaders to nurture long-term faith in teenagers.
Tammy Tolman
tammytolman.blogspot.com.au
Tammy’s blog focuses on Christian discipleship in families, parents making disciples of their own children, and helping our kids start off in life the way they aim to finish. It’s an excellent resource for Christian parents.
The Parenting Place
www.theparentingplace.com
The parenting place is packed with articles and programs to inspire and equip families to thrive. From babies to teenagers, The Parenting Place has support and advice to help make your family life enjoyable and fun.
Growing Faith
www.growingfaith.com.au
An online Christian parenting magazine with regular advice, articles and book reviews on parenting teenagers, raising families and more.
Focus on the Family Australia
families.org.au
Focus on the Family Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that offers relevant, practical support to help families thrive in every stage of life though radio broadcasts, preventative education programs, seminars, counselling and a wide range of resources for families.
Crosswalk
www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting
Crosswalk is packed with articles on parenting and family life.
Parent Cue
This is a great website with blogs, articles and ideas for helping parents disciple and nurture faith in their children.
COURSES
The Parenting Children Course
www.marriageandparenting.org.au/tpcc The Parenting Children course is a course that can be run for parents, step-parents, prospective parents or carers of children aged 0-10 years. It offers practical tools for building strong families, meeting children’s needs, setting effective boundaries, teaching healthy relationships, and passing on the values held to be important. The talks can be purchased on DVD and are interspersed with filmed clips of parents and children talking about their experience of parenting or being parented, street interviews and advice from a variety of parenting experts. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to present the talks yourself, scripts of the DVD’s are available online.
Parenting Toolbox
https://parentingplace.nz/courses
Great kids need great parents and with the right tools, anyone can be a great parent. Whether you are parenting with a partner, a grandparent, a solo parent, a blended or foster family, Toolbox has something to offer. If you are looking run a course in your church which offers practical strategies, inspiration and encouragement email toolboxau@theparentingplace.com to find out how you can become a facilitator.
ARTICLES
An Encouragement to Parents
An article to uplift you if you’ve felt the failure of parenting, a great quick read to share with your parents of playtime. By Yvette Wynne
3 Keys to Support Parents
If you are looking for resources as you partner with parents we want to suggest 3 key ways you could support parents in this season:
Encourage parents and strengthen them from where they are – for lasting impact avoid a one size fits all model. Each home is different. Look for ways to strengthen each family. Talk with them about what would be most helpful.
Tools over tasks –Wherever possible offering parents tools rather than tasks will have long term benefits. We want parents to take the lead in nurturing faith in their children. Tools can be used over and over again and this makes parents less reliant on a program. Instead of asking a specific questions about a particular story or passage ask questions that can be used with every passage. Questions like: What does this story tell us about God, what does it tell us about people, how does this story apply to me today and what am I going to do about it. Those questions are tools that will last a lifetime.
Encourage families to invite God into their day- Talking about God throughout the day is one of the simplest and most impactful things parents can do.
Family Activities Booklet
Enjoying God My Creator
From the Authors: ‘With over 70 activities, this guide was designed to help children enjoy and delight in God their Creator by teaching the way children learn best—through play, activity, and FUN—while still teaching solid biblical truth! We wanted a resource that will equip parents, teachers, and other adults to teach children about God the Creator in an active, meaningful way. Play is the work of childhood, and these activities harness the power of imagination with the power of God’s Word. Our ultimate goal is helping children know, enjoy, and respond to God, their Creator.
The activities in this guide are designed for 3-11-year-olds. Most can be easily adapted for other ages or taught to a multi-age group.
We designed activities with our own preschoolers in mind, so if you have preschoolers, they can join right in! Preschoolers love to touch, move, explore, and wonder. These are the main components of most of the activities.
Older kids love to lead. These years are a great time to help them develop skills while they continue to learn about God. If you have older children or teens, they can help you with the research or prep for activities. Suggestions are also given on ways to adapt activities so they challenge older children.’
See Link Here Enjoying-God-My-Creator-Activity-Guide
Chat Matters
A series of ‘Talking Life Together’ table mats has been designed to help you, your family and friends to talk around these important faith forming pillars from Here2Stay. The Family version has been translated into multiple languages. The Users’ Guide has been designed to fit perfectly on your tablet or smart phone.
Love out Loud
Check out the awesome Aussie made christian content videos especially for Children! HERE
Parenting App
The Parent Cue App cues you to have simple and meaningful faith-moments with your kid that will fit seamlessly into the daily rhythm of your life. 
Mainly Music Free Videos
7 Ways for Families
This guide can be used by families of all types who want to explore their Christian faith together in everyday activities. There are 77 different ideas from praying, chatting, worshipping and serving to ideas for young children and teens. This can also become a companion for “Head, heart and hand family times,” found in the “Family times” library, which are linked to BibleMAX lessons. 
https://max7dialup.org/en/resource/7waysfamilies
Encouragement to Parents from Parents
Ainsley Freeman gives her wisdom on how a family with 3 children and both parents working have managed in the midst of Covid.
Quiz Worx Home Delivery
For over 20 years Quiz Worx has been Sharing Jesus with Kids Everywhere through fun and creative live puppet shows. With the global pandemic of COVID-19 shutting down all opportunities for live ministry, Quiz Worx has turned its creative attention to making resources that can help churches and families share Jesus with kids in the home.
Intentional relationship building
Relationships are key to flourishing and kids have been finding it hard to be disconnected from friends at school, their sporting teams and church. While some restrictions are slowly changing it will be quite a while before gathering as a whole church returns. What intentional ways are you able to connect kids to their peers, ministry leaders and the church as a whole?
Safe Online Ministry
5 Tips for Online Kids & Youth Ministry
1. Be Values Driven
2. Be Purposeful
3. Be Accountable
4. Be Wise
5. Be Compliant
20 ZOOM Games
Simple Church Video
In what ways is your church inviting participation from as many people as possible?
The Simple Church Network pre-recorded a bible reading by people from three different households.Colossians 1 reading from Simple Church Network.
Engaging ways of telling the big God story and creative ways of exploring and responding to the story are helpful for everyone. Content that the whole church is looking at is going to get more take-up and be helpful for families than age segregated material.
The best way to use pre-packaged content will be as a springboard for your own context rather than just sending a link to families.
Good questions to ask as you choose content:
- Will this content be used for the whole church or specifically for kids?
- If you are having a separate time for kids to explore the bible – can you use the same passage, story or key theme in your material as what is being explored in the church live stream/videos?
- Rather than overwhelming families with lots of options – what are the 1 or 2 great things I will use?
This is the Jesus the Game Changer Church Campaign designed for families to do together, at home. It includes engaging but simple activities and conversations designed to be had over breakfast, around the dinner table, during a quiet moment together or at bedtime. We hope this inspires families to make Jesus’ last words their first priority.
