Raising Resilient Tweens and Teens in 2026

In 2026, the most vital work you can perform is to educate and train your children for the future, immortal life while shielding them from the corrupting influences of this degenerate ageYI August 3, 1893, par. 1+1. This period of their lives is a probationary time where you must help them fix their eyes upon heavenly things and develop a Christlike character that can stand unsullied amid moral pollutionYI August 3, 1893, par. 1+1.

🛡️ Shielding and Associations

• Guard Their Company: You must shield your children from contaminating influences by instructing them in principles of purity and preventing them from associating with every young companion who might lead them astrayCG 113.2+1.

• Monitor Lodging: Even with friends or neighbors, never allow your children to lodge in the same bed or room with others, as this often leads to the communication of knowledge that becomes a lifelong curseCG 114.4+1.

• Home Attractions: Make home life cheerful and happy, keeping their minds and hands occupied so they have little disposition to obtain a "street education"CG 114.4.

🧠 Mental and Physical Education

• The Science of Health: Ensure they understand physiology and the laws of health, as physical health promotes a strong mind and a well-balanced characterCG 103.6+1.

• Control of Appetite: Teach them that they "eat to live" rather than "live to eat," as controlling the appetite is essential for maintaining a clear mind to discern Satan's devices1MCP 333.2+1.

• Practical Labor: Combine literary training with domestic duties; teach them to cook, sweep, and keep accounts, as these habits of industry are the foundation for mental and spiritual excellenceCG 374.2+2.

• Reading Material: Strictly guard against frivolous or exciting stories, which pervert the mental taste and make the youth "mental inebriates" who are unfit for practical dutiesCCh 170.3+1.

✨ Spiritual Development

• Bible-Centered Study: Make the study of the Word of God prominent, as an education without the Holy Scriptures leads to moral deformityCT 204.2+1.

• Nature to Nature’s God: Take them out into nature to see the handiwork of the Divine Artist, helping them learn to love the Creator through His creationCG 49.1+1.

• Self-Denial for Others: Encourage them to save their pennies for missionary work and practice acts of unselfishness, which will close the door against many temptationsPaM 278.4+2.

• Family Worship: Let the hour of prayer be the most sacred and happiest hour of the day, with prayer ascending morning and evening to invite the presence of holy angelsCG 519.1+1.

🤝 Parental Conduct and Harmony

• United Effort: It is essential that fathers and mothers work in perfect harmony; if you are at variance, you will demoralize the family and lose the respect of your childrenRH March 13, 1894, par. 2+1.

• Firmness with Tenderness: When you see faults, do not speak severely or in passion; instead, mingle kindness and affection with a government that is as firm as a rock to right principlesCG 262.5+1.

• Lead by Example: Your children will study your countenance and imitate your deportment; therefore, you must lead a consistent life and exercise self-control to mold their characters correctlyCG 482.2+1.

The Lord has given you the command to "Take these children and train them for Me"13MR 14.2. By making their education for eternity your first consideration, you secure for them the best happiness in this life and an inheritance in the country for which patriarchs and prophets lookedFE 328.1+1. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it Proverbs 22:6.