“Marcia Segelstein’s book, Don’t Let the Culture Raise Your Kids, is a clarion call to be heeded by all parents. The information and advice in this book are invaluable. Why? Because it is concerned with how to form and protect our children’s hearts, minds, and very souls in a culture that is hell bent on destroying them. Parents who give this book a close read will be well on their way to nurturing children along the road to optimal spiritual, emotional and physical health.”
– Michelle Cretella, M.D., F.C.P., Executive Director of the American College of Pediatricians
“This book is a wake-up call for parents to take charge of raising their kids so the world doesn’t do it for them. Filled with practical tips, it supplies the knowledge and tools parents need to counter the secular values that dominate the culture and contradict Christian teaching. From social media and gaming, to sex ed in schools, to consumerism, this book has got parents covered.”
– Rebecca Hagelin, speaker and author of Home Invasion and 30 Ways in 30 Days to Strengthen Your Family
“Marcia Segelstein’s book will give parents the confidence they need to make rules and stick to them. Read this book. Your kids will be better for it!”
– Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder of The Ruth Institute and author of The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives and Why the Church Was Right All Along
“Marcia Segelstein has distilled years of writing on family issues into six chapters on important challenges in raising Christian children in today’s culture. This engaging book will be of great help to all parents whose goal is ‘to guide our children toward heaven.’”
– The Reverend Canon Robert Bader, St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Dunwoody, Georgia
“Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know the culture has become more dangerous for kids. As a developmental psychologist and character educator, I don’t know of any book that does a better job of documenting those dangers than Marcia Segelstein’s Don’t Let the Culture Raise Your Kids. If you’re a parent who wants to raise children to be faith-filled, virtuous, and principled human beings in a society that’s increasingly hostile to those values, you won’t find a better battle plan than this terrific resource. All of the chapters are packed with parenting strategies, tips, and tools (the recommendations for controlling screens are worth the price of the book). These are backed up by modern science and illustrated with encouraging stories of real families that are pushing back against the culture and raising kids with the conscience and character to resist it. This book is a godsend for families of faith, but it’s also for everyone who cares about kids and wants to learn more about how to deal with the very real threats to their hearts, minds, and souls from the world they now have to grow up in. Consider it for a book study in your church, school, or community — and offer a copy to your pastor. Bravo! to Marcia Segelstein for writing it.”
– Thomas Lickona, director, Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Respect and Responsibility), State University of New York at Cortland, and author of How to Raise Kind Kids: And Get Respect, Gratitude, and a Happier Family in the Bargain
“Parents trying to limit today’s cultural influences on their children can find a wealth of information in Marcia Segelstein’s well-researched book. Written with journalistic thoroughness, she sheds light on the issues and trends that justifiably cause parents to be concerned for the health, safety, and spiritual well-being of their kids. Not just that, Marcia also offers concrete suggestions to battle the culture’s impact while building stronger Christian families. For parents in the trenches, this is a must-read.”
– Marybeth Hicks, speaker, author, columnist, and radio host
Don’t Let the Culture Raise Your Kids
MARCIA SEGELSTEIN
Don’t Let the Culture Raise Your Kids
www.osv.com Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. Huntington, Indiana 46750
Except where noted, the Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible — Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright © 1965, 1966, 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Our Sunday Visitor in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.
Copyright © 2019 by Marcia Segelstein
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All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts for critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission from the publisher. For more information, visit: www.osv.com/permissions.
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
200 Noll Plaza
Huntington, IN 46750
1-800-348-2440
ISBN: 978-1-68192-276-8 (Inventory No. T1962)
eISBN: 978-1-68192-277-5
LCCN: 2018968557
Cover and interior design: Lindsey Riesen
Cover art: Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For Katie and Jack
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Critical Role of Parents
Introduction
Writing this book from the perspective of a journalist, I’ve drawn on the lessons learned in covering family-related issues, first as a television news producer, and then as a writer. But there’s no question that my work — and this book — have been influenced by having children of my own and experiencing the challenges of raising them in our current culture.
Despite believing that I was vigilant as a mother, I was taken by surprise many times by what my children experienced, what they were exposed to, and even what they were explicitly taught in school. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of cultural messages that were directly opposed to