In what ways have you noticed your teen struggling with belonging or working hard to fit in with certain people or groups?
While younger children make friends wherever they go, friends may seem a lot harder to come by the further you are in life. For teens who are working to discover and establish their God-given identity, friendships may take on a different role than they did during the preschool years.
No one wants to be alone. Teens desire friends for a number of reasons, and some of those reasons include wanting to feel safe and accepted, seen and acknowledged, supported and loved. Sometimes teens seek friendships for the wrong reasons, such as status, clout, or appearances, but most of the time, teens just want to belong.
In this session, Dr. Brad Griffin (senior director of Content & Research for the Fuller Youth Institute, speaker, writer, and volunteer youth pastor) discusses the importance of belonging in a teen’s life. Griffin shares why it’s so important for parents to model healthy relationships for their teens, the challenges of forming connections in the digital age, and how parents can have honest conversations with their teens about belonging and connection.
Duration: 13 min 33 sec
