Parenting Archives - Page 2 of 34 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

My TV Interview in Canada

Posted on: 10/1/19 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last week Canadian TV show 100 Huntley Street had me in the studio talking about how to help today’s young guys battle the four biggest distractions in their lives…

I touch on all four in this 11 minute interview.

Here’s a peek…

If you are looking for a tool to help a young man fight these battles… this book might be exactly what you’re looking for: The Guy’s Guide to Four Battles Every Young Man Must Face.

Posted in Books, Parenting, Self Image, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, TV | Tags: lust, Porn, self esteem, teen guys, teen temptation, Weed | Leave A Comment

Not so “super” heroes

Posted on: 09/17/19 4:13 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Mom, can I watch ‘The Boys’ on Amazon Prime?

What’s it about?

Superheroes.

Sure. Why not?

I guess that’s a good question. “Why not?”

Helping our kids learn to make good entertainment decisions isn’t easy (just like helping our kids escape porn isn’t easy). And with all the easy access to raunchy entertainment today, parenting has become a little more complex.

Some might call it unrealistic to wish that superheroes were always good guys. Today’s demand for authentic entertainment calls for more “real” or “gritty” characters… i.e. superheroes who are rapists, peeping toms, liars, murderers, hypocrites, drug addicts…and that’s exactly what you get with almost every hero in The Boys. Because that’s “real”, right?

Let’s just say that The Boys, based off the graphic novel/comic book series of the same name, provides Continue reading “Not so “super” heroes”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Parenting, TV | Tags: Amazon Prime Video, teaching discernment, The Boys | Leave A Comment

What Parents Need to Know about Zendaya and Euphoria

Posted on: 08/6/19 7:52 PM | by Jonathan McKee

What do you get when a former Disney star feels the need to break free from innocent roles?

No, I’m not talking about Miley, or Selena…I’m talking about the 2019 Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards “Favorite Female TV Star,” Zendaya, who many of you might know as ‘MJ’ in the most recent Spiderman: Far from Home…and let’s just say her most recent HBO show Euphoria is a little far from home.

Exactly how far does this TV-MA series stray?

The plot “keywords” might give you an idea Continue reading “What Parents Need to Know about Zendaya and Euphoria”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Parenting, Sexuality, TV | Tags: Euphoria, HBO | Leave A Comment

How to Help Your Kids Dodge Digital Distractions

Posted on: 07/14/19 11:53 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Hands down, the biggest question I’m asked at my parent workshops is, “How can we help our kids if they are spending too much time with screens?”

Great question. And here’s another place you can find the answer.

I’ve been collaborating with Focus on the Family a lot lately, getting to know their leaders (my podcast interviewing Jim and John from the Focus Daily Show), speaking for them, writing articles, shooting podcasts and doing radio shows. It’s been fun working with them in this role, so much in fact that they have brought me on as a “Focus on the Family Associate.”

This doesn’t mean we’re married… but we’re dating. 🙂

In short, I provide them with content, and they plug much of our content at TheSource4Parents.com. A win/win for both ministries.

They just released one of my new articles on their site with four tips moms and dads can use to help their kids who might be clocking in too much screen time Continue reading “How to Help Your Kids Dodge Digital Distractions”

Posted in Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Youth Culture | Tags: parenting, screen time, smartphone, smartphone addiction | Leave A Comment

Helping Teens Become Wise with Their Screens

Posted on: 05/15/19 3:22 AM | by Jonathan McKee

How should parents, mentors, teachers and youth workers respond to a generation that can’t seem to pry their eyes from their screens? The answer is conversations… and here is a YouTube video where I present four necessary conversations we need to have with today’s young people!

This is a talk I gave at Summit Ministries’ Basecamp event in Colorado Springs last week… and they just posted my talk to YouTube! The topic was helping teens become wise with their screens… only 30 minutes and change. Enjoy! (He introduces me at 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the video.) Continue reading “Helping Teens Become Wise with Their Screens”

Posted in Internet, Music, Parenting, Self Image, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Youth Culture | Tags: screen time, smartphones, social media | Leave A Comment

A fun conversation on Moody Radio

Posted on: 05/6/19 3:00 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Today (Monday, May 6th) I am really looking forward to the conversation with my friend Chris Brooks live on Moody radio. We’re talking about how we can actually help “distracted” young guys today.

Over the last several years I’ve had the opportunity to be the guest on Chris’ show, “Equipped with Chris Brooks” and it’s always one of my favorite interactions (shhhhhh…. don’t tell anyone!)

Chris brings wisdom, authenticity and relevance to conversations Continue reading “A fun conversation on Moody Radio”

Posted in Books, Parenting | Tags: Chris Brooks, Jonathan McKee, Moody Radio, The Guy's Guide, Today's distracted young guys | Leave A Comment

Kids spending real money on virtual goods

Posted on: 04/8/19 4:11 PM | by Jonathan McKee

“Mom, can I have $20?”

“Why? Do you want to go hang out with your friends?”

“Actually, I want to buy the ‘Cuddle Team Leader’ outfit for my character in Fortnite!”

Sound bizarre? Welcome to the monetary world of digital natives. And our TheSource4Parents.com game reviewer Naomi Norbez gives us a nice peek into the world of game-purchases in this special guest post (note: Noami has another helpful article on our parents’ page right now as well).

Budgeting for In-Game Purchases
By Naomi Norbez

Yes, kids still want to spend money on clothes and toys, but today these coveted purchases might just be virtual clothes and toys Continue reading “Kids spending real money on virtual goods”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Parenting | Tags: fortnite, in game purchases, microtransactions, video games | Leave A Comment

Parent Tips

Posted on: 02/23/19 8:52 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Giving our kids smartphones, losing our cool, Netflix, screen time… these are the topics I’ve tackled so far in the first four episodes of our brand new FREE Parent Tips podcast.

DYM has been knocking the ball out of the park with their entire podcast network with FREE podcasts about youth ministry, youth culture… and now they have me tackling parenting!

The podcasts average just 12 minutes each—bitesized and packed with application. So far I’ve been addressing the subjects that are the “most asked questions” by parents (like, “How do manage what my kids are watching on Netflix?” Great question. And I answered it in Episode 3: Parenting the Netflix Generation) And I’m really excited about the next two upcoming episodes, because in Episode 5 (releasing any day now) I’ll be sharing the newest research about Continue reading “Parent Tips”

Posted in Parenting | Tags: DYM, Jonathan McKee, Parent Tips, Podcast | Leave A Comment

Category: Parenting

Not so “super” heroes

What Parents Need to Know about Zendaya and Euphoria

A fun conversation on Moody Radio

Kids spending real money on virtual goods

Top posts so far…

Parent Tips