Parents Children Cooking
A mother and her son cook together. The new Children and Youth program helps children set goals to learn new skills. © 2020 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Hannah Mortenson
With an increased focus on home-centered worship — which the global COVID-19 pandemic has only accentuated — Latter-day Saint parents can find helpful parenting and teaching guidance on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
“Supporting Your Child’s Growth” — created in conjunction with the launch of the new Children and Youth program last November — features articles about building good relationships, helping children with their program goals, and teaching the gospel in the home.
Right now, the digital resource page exists solely in English, but it will be translated to other languages and include more resources to meet current needs. “As parents let us know what is valuable, we will start increasing availability of resources based on demand,” said Todd Jones, an audience manager in the Priesthood and Family Department.
When parents navigate to the resource page, they will find a feedback link where they can provide information on which resources were helpful, which resources should be expanded, and what other needs they have. According to Jones, parents are also free to ask questions and share insights by emailing parenting@churchofjesuschrist.org so that the Church can develop resources that will be valuable to parents in all circumstances.
Through this interactive feedback experience, the resource page will continue to grow into a multimedia resource hub, with new video, audio and image content.
“Whether your question is about improving your relationship with your more independent teen, or learning how to guide rather than direct young children’s efforts towards self-improvement, or how to create a comfortable environment for heart-to-heart communication,” said Relief Society general president Jean B. Bingham, “these parenting resources have wonderful suggestions and ideas to try.”
In addition to the resource page, parents can look forward to a monthly email from the Church beginning later in July. Each email will feature a monthly topic and highlight available resources.
Jones recognizes that “as times change, needs change” and encourages parents to continue visiting the current resource page and submitting feedback. “We hope that this will be a place that parents can come back to on a regular basis to find help and new content.”
