09/17/23 It's Just a Phase - Rediscover Your Kids

Watch this Week's Message

Icebreakers
To start the discussion, choose one of the following Icebreaker questions. (Or more than one if time allows.) You may want to ask these before the teaching video, whatever works best for you. 

1. Which of your good personality traits did you get from your parents or your kid(s) get from you? Which of the not-so-good ones were inherited? 
   
2. How are you different now than you were as a kid?
   
3. What has been the most surprising change that you’ve observed in your kid(s) or the kids in your life?
   

Discussion Questions
These questions are a guide to get the conversation started in your group—don’t feel like you need to ask everything you see here! As long as you’re having a conversation, you’re on the right track. Also, feel free to adjust the questions to fit the needs of your specific group. 

1. What are some things you have enjoyed most about the phase the kids in your life are in right now? 
   
2. Once you think you know your kid, they change! What’s something about your kid or the kids in your life that you wish you knew more about in this phase?
   
3. What are some specific ways you can “rediscover” who they are now?
   
4. What kinds of questions or needs do you see your kid or the kids in your life processing either with their actions or words?
   
5. Consider the roles mentioned during the message for the phase your child is in now. How do you see yourself operating in this role to provide the answer the kids in your life need?
   
   1. Preschool: Embrace their needs
      What are the needs of a preschooler?
   2. Elementary school: Engage their interests
      What are the needs of an elementary kid?
   3. Middle school: Affirm their personal journey
      What are the needs of a pre-teen?
      What are the needs of a middle school kid?
   4. High School: Mobilize their potential
      What are the needs of a high school kid?
6. What’s one thing you can do this week to grow in your current role as an adult in the life of a kid?
   

PARENT CUE: Practice becoming a student of your child this week. Are there any likes, dislikes or behaviors you see in your child that you didn’t notice until now? Keep watching and see how much you can learn!
For additional reading, check out the “Discover This Phase” section of your Phase Guide in the Family Toolbox at the church.