5 Ways Parents Can Protect Their Kids from Secular Culture

1. Censor Their Media Usage

One way to protect your kids from secular culture is to censor their media usage. Depending on how old your child is, they may be spending too much time being influenced by the media.

As most of us are aware, Hollywood is drenched in secular culture. Everything that is popular or is seen as "cool" by pre-teens or teens is normally polluted with sin. It could be that because these behaviors and actions are sinful, youths are prone to want to do these behaviors.

As a parent, you have the right to censor their media usage. Something my mom used to do when my sisters and I were younger is that she used to listen to any album we got before we were allowed to listen to it ourselves. If it had an explicit warning on it, my mom wasn't buying it. However, for the albums she did buy, she would listen through them ahead of time to make sure there was no bad content in the music. Maybe this is something that you could do with your own kids.

Even if they don't have their own physical copies, you could do a deep dive into the music they are listening to on a music streaming platform. If what they are listening to has bad content or profanity, talk with them about it. Do not ignore the issue and, in so doing, cause the problem to get worse.

Instead, talk to your child about what they are listening to and share with them the negative consequences that can come from listening to the music.

Music, television, and other forms of media can influence us. Anything that goes into our ears or we see with our eyes can significantly impact us. This is why it is important not to allow bad things to go into the eyes and ears of your children. It will cause many destructive behaviors to be the result.

Be proactive and set clear rules and expectations ahead of time.

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2. Limit Time on Social Media

A second way to protect your children from secular culture is to limit their time on social media.

Sadly, many of us spend way too much time on social media. Due to FOMO, (fear of missing out), we feel we have to constantly be online checking our social media accounts, even if we just checked it five seconds ago. This is something that we need to stop as adults as well as it is something that we need to caution our kids against.

Social media is full of secular culture that can easily lead children astray. A common thing that is taught within a secular culture is that your worth is tied to your appearance. Since the genesis of social media, there has been a skyrocketed amount of cases of eating disorders. This is because so many girls are trying to manipulate their bodies to conform to the beauty standards of the secular culture that we live in.

Rather than knowing that their worth is found in Jesus, they are seeking out their worth in their body size. Children need to be reminded that they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-16). There is nothing about their bodies that they need to change despite what secular culture says. Each person is beautiful because they are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

As a parent, talk with your kids about their media usage and limit how much time they can go online daily. You can even set a time limit on certain apps on your child's device. This will ensure that they don't go over their allowed time each day. You might want to set this amount for 10-15 minutes a day, but make sure you also follow up with a talk about it, which leads us to our next point.

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3. Don't Be Afraid to Talk about It

A third way to protect your children from secular culture is not to be afraid to talk about it. While many parents are afraid of being seen as "uncool" by their kids, there is nothing uncool about protecting them.

Choose to be open with your kids and talk with them about the dangers of secular culture. There are many bad things that secular culture promotes that can actually cause an individual much harm.

Teach your children about this and build them up in the Lord. Help them to know biblical truths and to replace the lies of secular culture with the truth of the Bible.

If you have noticed that your children are becoming more accepting or even adopting patterns of secular culture, it is best to intervene and have a loving talk with them. This may not be the case for younger children, but it could be true for older children and teens.

Sit down with them and talk with them about what God says on the matter. Help them see things through a Christian worldview rather than a secular worldview.

If your child is having a hard time accepting these things, just keep being kind and point them to Jesus. As much as you might want to, there is no way to control your child's actions or beliefs. They have their own free will and can choose to do as they please. While no parent wants to hear this, it is the truth.

You can talk with them about it, yet also know that they might not listen to you, especially if they are an older child. Teenagers are going to give you the most difficult time because they want to fit in with their friends, and all of their friends are watching secular movies, listening to secular music, and engaging in secular beliefs.

Help them to know that you love them no matter what, but also urge them to follow after Jesus rather than their peers. This would also be a good time to talk with them about their friends, as the Bible tells us a companion of fools leads to trouble (Proverbs 13:20).

4. Ensure They Have a Strong Biblical Foundation

A fourth way to protect your children from secular culture is to ensure they have a strong biblical foundation. If your child is young, this could be more difficult, but if your child is older, they can understand things better. No matter how young your children are, know that you can go ahead and start building a solid biblical foundation for them. Teach them about God, the Bible, and what the Bible says.

Each day, you could try to do a Bible story with them. There are many children's Bibles that you could use, or you could utilize the New International Reader's Version, which is designed for children. Any of these things can help start building a solid foundation for your children.

By building a solid biblical foundation for them, they will be better at differentiating what God says from secular culture. They will also start to learn that much of what secular culture teaches is the exact opposite of what God says in the Bible.

For older kids, encourage them to read the Bible on their own and help them with any troubling verses they don't understand. It could be that they are having a hard time with the book of Isaiah or Revelation. Help them in these areas and answer any other questions they may have.

It might even be optimal to do Bible reading and a study together as a family to help the entire family learn more about the Bible.

By building and cultivating a strong biblical foundation, your children will be able to talk back to the lies of secular culture. Instead of being influenced and changed by secular culture themselves, they will instead be able to help others turn away from it. This includes their friends at school as well as any other siblings who may not be fully on board with learning more about the Bible.

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5. Teach Them to Be Discerning

A fifth way to protect your kids from secular culture is to teach them to be discerning. This is something that is often overlooked by Christian families, yet it is something that needs to be looked more into.

If parents were more prone to teach their kids to be discerning, they would be better equipped at kicking secular culture to the curb. If you want to give it a try, start teaching your children how to be discerning. Help them learn how to distinguish what God says from what secular culture says.

By following the teachings of secular culture, there will only be problems. Nobody is going to have a fulfilling life in the Lord if they are following the practices of secular culture. However, everyone would live lives to the glory of God if they started following what God says rather than the lies of the world. As a parent, you want the best for your children, and this will be seen in how you help them live the life that God wants for them.

A great way to do this is to help them become discerning. This might be harder for younger children, yet it is crucial for pre-teens and teenagers. They need help in discernment more than anyone and you as a parent can help them with this.

Discernment is something we all need to take with us as we grow older because we will never be able to tell the good from the bad without it. In other words, we are always going to be choosing secular culture over God. Instead of continuing to do that, help your children to learn to be discerning.

A few ways to protect your children from secular culture are to censor their media usage, limit their time on social media, don't be afraid to talk about it, ensure they have a strong biblical foundation, and teach them to be discerning. All of these things will help protect your children from secular culture.