When was the last time you took your son or daughter on a date? It could be something  as simple as taking them out for a soft drink. The objective is to spend some quality time interacting with them.

2. Learn to listen

Have you noticed what poor listeners we have become in our culture? I like what Proverbs 18:13 says about listening – especially in light of parenting a teenager. "Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish" (NLT).  Sometimes it's easy to advise or correct your teen in a given situation before you’ve really heard - with careful attention - what he/she is trying to say.  This takes time and effort, but it’s worth it.

3. Work at understanding

Do you really comprehend the challenges your teens are facing in their world today?  Our ability to grasp their viewpoint about different issues in life enables us to better demonstrate our care and concern for them, as well as to provide proper guidance for tackling the tough issues of life. 

4. Encourage them

We all need encouragement – especially teenagers today.  Our world’s not a very encouraging place to live. Confusion, pain, and disillusionment enshroud this generation.  That's why it is so important for our homes to be places of hope and help.  Kids need a safe refuge where they’re sure someone cares and wants the best for them.

5. Give them boundaries

The Old Testament talks about God establishing boundaries for His people. Why? They needed protection, guidance and security among other things. Teens need the same thing from their parents. Remember who the parent is – you! They may kick and scream at first, and they may never thank you, but they need realistic boundaries to survive.

6. Choose your battles

One of the toughest things you may do as the parent of a teenager is to learn how to choose your battles. This doesn’t mean you compromise or ignore behavior, but you look at the big picture. Put another way – “do you want to win the battle or the war”?

7. Love them genuinely

Everybody knows how important love is, but we usually think of it as a feeling.  Genuine love is a choice and an action.  That’s exactly what 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is talking about. These verses offer a great checklist for the kind of love parents should demonstrate to their teens. Kids need this kind of love if they’re going to deal with issues like the occult and witchcraft. 

Have you noticed how easy it is to slip into hypocrisy in regards to parenting? For example: we hammer our kids relentlessly when it comes to the music they listen to or the web sites they visit; yet we fail to use the same standards for selecting our music or the movies we watch. How many parents shred their teen’s music, then turn right around and watch TV shows like “Desperate Housewives”?

Nothing will undermine your ability to be an effective parent more quickly than hypocrisy. Don’t deceive yourself into believing that you can get away with pretending to be what you are not in front of your kids. They can spot a phony a mile away. Kids today are searching for role models who are genuine; people who live life with integrity and consistency. And this search begins at home with mom and dad.

Let’s challenge and equip our kids to avoid the darkness and develop a faith that’s fascinated with what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable (Philippians 4:8). 

Steve Russo is a radio host, a drummer, the author of more than a dozen books, and a dad of three. His most recent book Fear No Evil (Bethany House, 2007) examines ways Satan entices believers to stray from God and offers Biblical tools to battle evil. Throughout the school year he attends many public school assemblies, where he performs drum solos and speaks about making better choices in life.