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By Dr. Jos
A
RE YOU OVERLOOKING a critical component of
parenting? While many parents spend enormous
amounts of time preparing their kids for work and school,
a five-year study by Ivy League researchers determined that
they do almost nothing to prepare them for mature relation-
ships or healthy marriages. 1
Researchers concluded that:
• Preparation for sex is not enough.
• Children want more guidance about relationships than
most parents provide.
• Children enjoy talking about the meaning and purpose
of love.
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• Parents should focus on the bigger issues: mature love
and lasting relationships.
If there is one takeaway for Christian parents, it is this: we
need to focus on God’s design for marriage and successful
preparation for it.
Unfortunately, a previous generation of experts encour-
aged parents to focus on puberty and purity, unintentionally
reducing marriage preparation to a “say no to sex” campaign
while talking about anatomy and reproductive systems. Do
parents need to talk with children about puberty and purity?
Absolutely. But this should not be the extent of a child’s
marriage preparation.