“Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!” We’ve all heard the phrase before, some of us have probably even used it a time or two, but when it comes to dating, it can be pretty hard to actually put into practice. We live in a culture where marketing, events and entertainment are driven by romantic relationships, where people are profiled based on relationship status, and where love and romance are a part of our daily conversations. For many students it just seems normal, almost expected to devote all of their time, energy and affection to acquiring or maintaining a dating relationship. This week we’re going to talk to students about finding balance as they learn to fit dating into the many other, equally important, areas of life.

According to NDP Group, kids are increasingly using digital media to acquire information. While this is not surprising, the growth rate statistics are fascinating.

Among kids ages 2 to 14 in 2008:

92% use a computer (down from 94% in 07)
85% play video games (up from 80% in 07)
82% of kids ages 2 to 5 play video games (up from 79% in 07)
57% of girls play video games (up from 50% in 06)
30% of kids ages 6 to 9 own a portable video game device
60% use portable digital music devices (up from 51% in 07)
20% of kids ages 6 to 9 own a digital music device
51% use a cellphone (up from 49% in 07)
30% of kids ages 6 to 9 own a cellphone
22% download ringtones
22% watched TV digitally on a computer, cellphone, gaming device, or music device (up from 17% in 07)

Three trends that particularly stand out to me are:

Video Game Momentum: It has been a long time since Atari, Mario, and Duck Hunt, so I am surprised to see video game usage among kids still growing at such a startling rate of 80% in 2007 to 85% in 2008. It seems hard to imagine kid culture being more fixated on video games, but clearly the love for gaming will only grow stronger.

Diaper Gamers: Four out of every five 2 to 5-year-olds play video games. Think about that. Some still struggle with pooping their pants or wetting the bed, yet they are learning how to master gaming. While playing video games at such a young age does not completely rewire a kid’s ability to enjoy childlike things, I do believe early gaming makes kids pickier and raises their level of expectations for entertainment.

Instant Gratification: Unless you are 8 years old, it is difficult to imagine growing up in a world where you can often instantly watch your favorite show, listen to your favorite song, call your best friend, look up an answer, or play a game. While these conveniences are wonderful, they also eliminate many opportunities to learn patience and self-discipline.
Because these conveniences change kid culture, it is important that children’s ministers and parents both emphasize the importance of good character and provide kids with opportunities to develop their character.

For Discussion:-
-What do you think of these statistics?
- How do you see digital media changing kid culture?
- What methods work for reaching kid culture?

A recent poll by Common Sense Media discovered that parents’ biggest health concern for their kids is the overuse of media. In fact, other studies show that kids spend as much as 45 hours per week with media such as iPods, social networks, TV, and video games.

Parents’ View of Media

96% of parents said that they are responsible for monitoring their childrens media use
68% of parents think media influences the health and well-being of their kids
57% of parents are concerned about their kids overusing media
13% of parents were able connect the dots when it came to the influence that media has on their health of their children

The Biggest Concern

29% of parents rank television as their #1 concern
24% rank the Internet as #1
18% rank video games as #1

The Effects of Media

89% of parents with children aged 5 to 7 reported that the media prompted their kids to request toys and dolls
71% of parents with teens aged 14 to 16 say they think media persuaded their kids to ask for iPods and computers

This is a post from one of the Blogs I follow. "Pastor Steven Furtick" This is great advice for parents but is also great wisdom for Christ Followers!

But He’s always loving.
Don’t confuse God’s love with like ability. He is most certainly a loving Father. But that doesn’t always mean He’s like able.

When a parent sets out to be like able, the primary intention is to make the child happy. Like able parents want their children to have favorable opinions of them at all times. So, in order to enforce this opinion, like able parents give their children whatever the children want, whenever they want it.God is not that kind of Father. He is entirely unconcerned about how He fares in the paternal popularity poll.And every parent knows that in order to be truly loving toward your children, sometimes you have to be utterly unlikeable.

Sometimes being loving means saying a firm no, refusing to capitulate no matter how much your children scream or cry or beg.Sometimes being loving means taking something away from your child because it’s bad for them, even if they don’t understand the danger of the object they’re playing with.Sometimes being loving means measuring out discipline to correct and train, even though you hate giving the punishment more than they hate receiving it.

Maybe you don’t like what the Lord is doing in your life right now.That’s okay.He’s infinitely more moved by how much He loves you than how much you like Him.

Hebrews 12:5-7And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,because the Lord disciplines those he loves,and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?