Robin Barfield
Robin Barfield is Lecturer in Practical Theology at Oak Hill College, London, and has a PhD in children's ministry.
Contact info
ArticleWhat’s your parenting style? Are you a dolphin?
There have been several animal parenting styles that I’ve talked about in the last few articles. Drawing on Solomon’s wisdom and the common grace that comes from the world, these styles can give us clues to self-reflecting on our own parenting styles.
Article4 steps Christian parents can take to address the issue of p*rn
I have written before on being hopeful and wise when it comes to the online lives of youth and children. Part of that wisdom is recognizing that your children will see images that you wish they did not. I am not going to use the p*rn word because I think it is more serious than that. What your child may stumble across or seek out or be sent may even be violent and non-consensual sexual images. These are not just images but high-definition videos. I use the word child as the latest Children’s Commissioner report states that 10% of children have seen such images by age 9.
ArticleWhat’s your parenting style? Are you an elephant or a tiger parent?
King Solomon advised the sluggard to learn about hard work from watching an ant. What animal would he suggest a parent learn from? There are a number of choices and I wonder which species you might set as your role model. Perhaps you are like the tortoise – slow and patient with your children, compared to the hare who rushes them from task to task. Or perhaps you are like the eagle swooping over their heads, ready to plummet down to their level at any necessary moment. Or perhaps you are like the Mother Hen sheltering them under your wing, after all that’s a biblical picture (Luke 13:34).
ArticleWhat’s your parenting style? Are you a helicopter or a satellite parent?
You have probably heard of helicopter parenting - the idea that parents hover over every move their children make, ready to swoop in and protect them from harm. This style has been made even more possible by smartphones: I can see where my children are at any moment. Is he going to get home in time for dinner? Why is she in the park when she should be at dance class? I just want to check that they both made it home from school.
ArticleWhat’s your parenting style? Are you a dry-clean parent?
One of the features of modern life is that we have learned to outsource. I can no longer fix my car, my computer, or my dishwasher—and I know I cannot ‘fix’ my children! These things are tremendously complex, and I am more likely to do harm than good if I tinker. The solution for the first three is to take them to an expert who understands them and can do something about it. I can rest assured that the mechanic at the garage can sort out my brakes, my suspension, and my tyres, and get me safely back on the road. I even have an expert in dishwashers called Geoff, who I occasionally call around. He sucks through his teeth, then gets on with the job and charges me next to nothing.
ArticleWhat’s your parenting style? Are you a lawnmower?
If you could describe your parenting as a picture, what would it be? A helicopter always circling around; a bulldozer flattening everything in your path; a gardener, carefully nurturing tender stems?
ArticleAre smartphones rewiring my kid’s brain?
Robin Barfield wonders if Christian parents are sometimes a little too negative on the impact of smart phones and social media. For an alternative perspective click here.
Article3 reasons to read The Chronicles of Narnia with your children
What is your favourite children’s book series?
