All Younger children articles
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ArticleMotherhood as ministry: The case for staying-at-home
From the beginning of time, the role of women has often been tied to domesticity and child-rearing. The traditional roles undertaken by women—roles sometimes looked down on today—positively defined many of the matriarchs of the past. Yet today, society critiques the maternal homemaker stereotype and instead celebrates the contributions women have made beyond the home. With the exception of Mothering Sunday, the role of ‘motherhood’ and ‘homemaker’ now seems little celebrated or advocated for.
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ArticleA woman’s place? Rethinking work, home, and biblical calling
I remember the first pay packet I received; it was actual cash in a small brown envelope and was the result of my eight hours in a local coffee shop. I loved that job—the freedom it gave me, the finance it provided, and (retrospectively) the experience it gave me of the working world.
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ArticleA Christian parent’s guide to mandatory reporting: What’s going on and why it matters
Trigger Warning: This article contains information about child sexual abuse
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ArticleLetting go to let them grow: Christian parenting without mowing down every obstacle
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?
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ArticleThere is no good parenting without Good Friday
We spend a lot of time on NexGen providing helpful, biblical, practical articles for Christian parents on all manner of subjects: films, social media, additional needs, disability, schools, awkward questions, reviews of Christian resources and much more. But the most important element in Christian parenting is you. That sounds obvious, after all the clue is in the word! But sometimes we might forget the centrality of that truth. Your parenting starts with you. Not the skills, not the tips, not the information – you.
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ArticleFinding peace after loss: Trusting God while supporting your child’s grief
Grief is one of the most challenging experiences that we endure in life. Whether it arrives suddenly or evolves over time, nothing fully prepares you for the plethora of emotions that it brings. When my father passed away last year, the grief was overwhelming. Though I continue to hold on to my faith, there are days when the weight of his absence feels unbearable, and the notion of ‘healing’ seems distant.
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ArticleFrom headlines to hope: How Christian parents can guide youth and children through troubling news
The news isn’t easy for anyone to hear right now, least of all our children. From war and political divisions, to natural disasters, the headlines are enough to fill a grown adult with terror, let alone a young person.
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ArticleA creative world with no imagination – A Minecraft Movie fails to craft a story
Film: A Minecraft Movie
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ArticleHaving a Disability Champion can revolutionise life for disabled youth and children in your church
When we moved to our current church a few years ago, most people who talked with me for more than a few minutes soon discovered that I’m passionate about churches becoming more accessible for disabled people, including disabled young people and children. It wasn’t too long before our vicar approached me and asked if I would consider being the Disability Champion for our church. After praying about it, I gladly accepted. I want churches to not only welcome and include disabled adults, youth and children, but to also be places where they can feel that they truly belong. But what is a Disability Champion and why might your church need one?
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ArticleClever Club Bible Bingo: A great game to help children learn and meditate on Bible stories
Clever Cub Bible Bingo is a recent addition to the collection of resources offered by David C Cook. The game is designed to help kids learn Bible truths through a familiar and engaging format. As a mother of four, eager to make the Bible enjoyable for my children, I was immediately drawn to it. Packaged in a travel-sized box, the game includes 12 double-sided Bingo boards along with perforated sheets that need to be separated to make the calling and marker tokens.
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ArticleNew film The King of Kings is a pleasant, family-friendly, cat-approved retelling of the gospel
Angel Studios’ The King of Kings is an animated film directed by Seong-ho Jang, loosely inspired by Charles Dickens’ lesser-known work, The Life of Our Lord. Boasting a voice cast so stacked it could pass as a Who’s Who of Hollywood - including Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Pierce Brosnan, Roman Griffin Davis, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley, and Oscar Isaac - the film reimagines the gospel story through Dickens’ eyes, turning it into a bedtime tale for his son, Walter. And if that sounds like a quaint, heartwarming setup, don’t worry - there’s also a cat for comic relief.
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ArticleShould Christian parents be prepared to smack their children? The case against corporal punishment
The Research is unequivocal; smacking children is harmful. Studies have shown that the negative effects of smacking include problems with social-emotional development, self-regulation, and cognitive development. Smacking also alters children’s brain response in ways similar to severe maltreatment and it increases the perception of threats.
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ArticleShould Christian parents be prepared to smack their children? The case in favour of corporal punishment
It’s not an easy thing to talk about corporal punishment. Many British parents are wary even of broaching the subject with one another, let alone normalising it. For many people, the potential for justifying abuse is too high. Anyone defending a genuinely Christian view of corporal punishment should never justify abuse. But in our zeal to combat abusive forms of corporal punishment, we also risk eradicating this biblical practice altogether, forgetting that, when practised in love, it is intended for good not evil.
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ArticleThe Garden the Curtain and the Cross is a great resource for Christian parents to try in the run up to Easter
As the last few remnants of the Christmas stock are in the seasonal sale aisle, in comes the chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. ‘Happy Easter’ is on bunting, hats, and toys everywhere we look. It can be difficult for Christian parents to navigate yet another consumer-hacked event in the calendar, as the colour pallet in the shops turns to pastel yellow, pink and green and the shelves are filled with chocolate eggs, and fluffy bunnies and chicks. So, how do Christian families manage this time of year as they explain the biblical account of the first Easter to children in a theologically accurate, yet age-appropriate way, especially as eggs, hot cross buns and bunnies can be easier to digest than sin, death and resurrection.
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ArticleNew Disney+ series for children Win or Lose has an openly Christian character in it, but that doesn’t mean it’s a complete cause for celebration
I’ve always loved Disney. I love the music, the predictability and the comfort of the familiar hero storyline. I marvel at the ability for its message to speak to 5-year-old me whilst still speaking to 45-year-old me, that’s meant that Disney has become a timeless classic in my life. There have however been some recent controversies, for example around Disney’s latest move to introduce characters who are gay (Strange World (2022) and Buzz Lightyear (2022)). This led some Christians to unsubscribe from Disney+. As a family we chose to keep our subscription. My children are now 21, 19 and 17, so Christian discussions around the cultural topics that Disney are highlighting are much easier. However, for many others, the way in which Disney portrayed gay characters accompanied by price hikes saw them choosing to cancel their subscriptions.
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ArticleChristian devotions at home for children with additional needs are hard but worth working at
Hands up if you feel pressured by your church to do family devotions every morning. In some areas of our wonderful church, we can be left feeling that having daily family devotions is compulsory and doing it in the morning brings extra holiness points.
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ArticleOur children and young people need the good news not mere happy news
Rachael Newham considers whether we are passing on an emotional prosperity gospel and what a healthier approach might be.
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ArticleParents are the key to bridging the gap between church and school
Ashley Nichols sees parents as playing a pivotal role in helping schools provide appropriate space and time for children and young people to consider the Christian faith.
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ArticleChristian parenting in hospital: surviving through everyday faith
I’m sitting just to her side, wedged between the ward wall and my child’s hospital bed. For me and many other parents this has become a familiar yet daunting place. The rhythmic soundscape of oxygen masks and intermittent beeping from machines becomes our lullaby. It merges into the background of chatter and children’s cries, as we try to rest and get some sleep.
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ArticleHand in Hand Conference 2025: A call to action for children’s and family ministry
As the skies drizzled on a chilly Friday afternoon in February, the excitement surrounding the 2025 National Children’s and Family Ministry Conference, Hand in Hand, was anything but damp. Over 600 attendees arrived at the Bethel Convention Centre in Birmingham, where the warm, vibrant welcome was evident from the moment they stepped onto the red carpet. This year, the event found a new home, bringing with it a fresh energy and a renewed sense of purpose in children and families ministry.
