Covered

Church leaders’ children can be very exposed. The congregation’s love and interest can mean they feel like everyone’s watching them and has an opinion. But there are things we can do to cover them, to protect them from that scrutiny, giving them security in their private lives and the choice to make relationships on their own terms.

This is covered in full in chapters 8 to 12 of Parenting as a Church Leader, and you can watch this session of the course in the Parenting as a Church Leader Facebook Group.

Knowing how to protect them from others’ scrutiny, free them to build their own relationships or deal with the congregation’s expectations can feel tricky. On this page, we’ve posted answers to questions that people have asked on Parenting as a Church Leader training days which will help you explore what this looks like.

Being a parent first when someone behaves inappropriately towards my child

How to speak to your kid’s group leader without them feeling the vicar is challenging their ministry

The village might raise a child, but I don’t want the congregation trying to help us parent ours!

Dealing with anonymous criticism of our parenting

Dealing with someone in church telling off your kid unfairly

Helping our kids with conversations with the congregation

Protecting your kids’ privacy when others don’t approve

Covering a child with mild additional needs

Protecting a child from the pressure to ‘spiritually perform’ in church

When dad’s the visiting preacher and yours are the only children in church

Managing the congregation’s expectations when you’re one of the only families in church

My teen’s confiding in the youth worker, who’s also a good friend of mine and someone I used to confide in myself!

I don’t want to be expected to parent all the kids just because I’m a kids worker

For posts relating to other topics covered on the day see:

Connected     Prioritised     Empowered