Child Social Issues

Today's children and teens are growing up more anxious, depressed, and fearful than previous generations. But if we help this generation, often called "Gen Z", to discover true God-confidence, instead of chasing the illusive self-confidence, we can empower them to embrace their uniqueness and find their purpose, passion, and peace as they grow into humble, compassionate, and resilient young people. Cyndie Claypool de Neve, an associate marriage and family therapist, shares her personal journey from feeling anxious and suicidal to learning God-confidence.

She was only four years old when she was sold into the sex trade. White picket fences and steepled churches all guarded secrets that were not ever supposed to be told. In kindergarten, she began praying every night that Jesus would let her die. In second grade, she sat in church on a Sunday morning swinging her feet from a wooden pew behind the man who had paid to rape her the night before. Her perpetrators were from all walks of life. Here is the true account of how she was brought out of captivity and into a life of freedom.

Stella Diaz loves marine animals, especially her betta fish, Pancho. But Stella Diaz is not a betta fish. Betta fish like to be alone, while Stella loves spending time with her mom and brother and her best friend, Jenny. Trouble is, Jenny is in another class this year, and Stella feels very lonely. When a new boy arrives in Stella's class, she really wants to be his friend, but sometimes Stella accidentally speaks Spanish instead of English and pronounces words wrong, which makes her turn roja. Plus, she has to speak in front of her whole class for a big presentation at school!

A progressive Christian parenting book with a social-justice orientation. How do we build a better world? One key way, says Cindy Wang Brandt, is by learning to raise our children with justice, mercy, and kindness. In Parenting Forward Brandt equips Christian parents to model a way of following Jesus that has an outward focus, putting priority on loving others, avoiding judgment, and helping those in need. She shows how parents must work on dismantling their own racial, cultural, gender, economic, and religious biases in order to avoid passing them on to their children.

Adam sometimes gets angry and loses his cool, he shouts out loud and gets told off at home and at school. He kicks, he stomps and he screams, he smashes things up to let off some steam. Follow Adam throughout his day, to find ways to make his anger go away.

Nelly sometimes gets nervous and loses her head, she wants to be on her own, and hide away in bed. She worries about the smallest of things, her tummy ties into knots and strings. Follow Nelly throughout her school day, to find ways to make her nerves go away.

While Christians love to focus on a gentle, tender Jesus, Harlow offers an unforgettable reintroduction to the true character of Jesus and invites us to get to know the savior who was gracious but also blunt, sometimes sarcastic, and wildly passionate about bringing people to the heart of God.

In The Mother and Child Project, Melinda Gates, Kay Warren, Tony Campolo, Christine Caine, and Senator William H. Frist, along with other inspirational leaders, cultural icons, political experts, academics, and service providers, provide a personal yet fact-based narrative exploring the plight of women and children living in extreme poverty in an effort to educate and inspire the church to speak up in support of maternal and child health issues in the developing world.

From the prolific author of The Moon Within comes the heart-wrenchingly beautiful story in verse of a young Latinx girl who learns to hold on to hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees.

The human body is an amazing gift, yet today, many people downplay its importance and fail to understand what Christianity teaches about our bodies and their God-given purposes. Many people misunderstand how the body was designed, its role in relating to others; and we lack awareness of the dangers of objectifying the body, divorcing it from its intended purpose.

Meet Bubble Gum Brain and Brick Brain: two kids with two very different mindsets. Bubble Gum Brain likes to have fun adventures, learn new things, and doesn't worry about making great mistakes. Brick Brain is convinced that things are just fine the way they are and there's not much he can do to change them, so why try?

Tim Geiger explains how best to help young people understand LGBTQ+ identities and struggles in light of Scripture, while modeling the compassionate concern of our Savior. He also shows you how to build authentic friendships with members of the LGBTQ+ community, always remembering our common need for grace, repentance, and faith.

Conversations about race and ethnicity can be uncomfortable. Often parents don't know what to say or how to say it. It might seem easier to duck a hard, confusing subject, but your children are already learning about race from the world around them. But are they hearing what God has to say in the Bible?

In this timely and incisive book, John Bursch helps explain what the Catholic Church teaches about the human person and why modern culture's embrace of "gender ideology" is not only wrong but terribly dangerous for parents and families, female athletes, medical professionals—and especially those experiencing gender confusion. Drawing from Church documents and extensive scientific research, Bursch answers numerous questions that confront Catholics living in a culture that promotes gender fluidity. He covers a range of topics, including how to approach the use of pronouns in the workplace.

Daddy's girl Rebecca Muir has long known exactly what she wants to do after high school: attend the prestigious architecture program at Columbia University, 3,000 miles away from her home. But as the end of school nears, things are no longer so clear cut - she's just fallen in love with the perfect guy, Jackson; her dad has gotten a new job in New York, so her whole family is following her to the East Coast; and she's having trouble ignoring her premonition that something terrible is coming. And it soon becomes clear why: Shortly after the move, her father reveals that he's leaving them....

You can be improved....Can you really change your body just by carrying around a coded note? Sure - the advanced technology of a d-mat booth will transport you anywhere instantly, but can it also make you taller, stronger, more beautiful? Clair is pretty sure the offer is too good to be true. But her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try, longing for a new, improved version of herself. What starts as Libby's dream turns into Clair's nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap.

In 2017, five-year-old Julia traveled with her mother, Guadalupe, from Honduras to the United States. Her harrowing journey took her through Mexico in the cargo section of a tractor trailer. Then she was separated from her mother, who was held hostage by smugglers who exploited her physically and financially. At the United States border, Julia came through the processing center as an unaccompanied minor after being separated from her stepdad who was deported.

Imagine there was never a Laguna Beach, a Newport Harbor, the shimmering Hills. Imagine that your hometown - your school - is the first place XTV descends to set up cameras. Now imagine they've trained them on you. When Jesse O'Rourke gets picked for a "documentary" being filmed at her school in the Hamptons she's tempted to turn down the offer. But there's a tuition check attached to being on the show, and Jesse needs the cash so she can be the first in her family to attend college.

Twelve-year-old cousins Phoebe, Hillary, Neeve, and Kate are spending the summer at their grandmother's beach house. They have heard stories about the Callahan-Bicket family rivalry. Now it's up to them to prove that the Callahans are the best family on the island! Fans of the American Girl books will love these spunky girls.

Drawing on the author's experience as a mother walking with and learning from her own transgender child, as well as working with hundreds of families across the country doing the same, this book helps parents navigate the emotional, spiritual, and logistical landscape of raising a gender-diverse child.