Podcast
Youth Culture Today with Walt Mueller
Hosted by Walt Mueller · EN
Youth Culture Today is a 60-second daily radio spot from CPYU and Walt Mueller, now available as a podcast. It provides a quick glance into the world of teenagers and today's youth culture for parents, youth workers and others who care about kids and want to help them navigate adolescence in ways that bring glory to God.
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Episodes
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E-Bike Cautions
5d ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeLast spring I was watching the local news when I saw a story about a group of ten teenagers who were riding e-bikes while being chased by the police. It all happened in broad daylight, as the kids vandalized school athletic fields, stopped traffic on a busy street, and injured a man by riding past and kicking him, all while shouting profanities. Because electronic bikes can be customized to travel at speeds higher than forty-five miles an hour, all of the riders got away from the police and were never caught. Parents, e-bikes are everywhere and chances are your kids already have one or will be pestering you for one. Be aware of the local regulations, many of which are being formed, debated, and enacted even as we speak. These bikes are dangerous, and it’s your God-given responsibility to ensure the safety of your kids, teaching them to ride not only with care, but with respect for others. Yes, all of our activities, even riding a bike, should be seen as an act of worship!
Transcribe →Are Your Kids Suffering Well?
6d ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeIt hurts to watch our kids suffer. In a youth culture pervaded by bullying, our kids may sometimes suffer injustice at the hands of others. Sometimes, their suffering is brought on by choices they’ve made. At other times, circumstances related to illness or accidents are the cause of their suffering. The Scriptures teach us that because of the flawed nature of ourselves and our world, we should not be surprised by difficulty and suffering. In fact, times of difficulty, pain, and suffering are what God uses to draw us to Himself, to conform us to His likeness, and to whittle off all that extra “fluff” that keeps us from maturing in our faith. The Psalmist knew this to be the case. In Psalm 119:71 we read, “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.” When our teens suffer, it might actually be good for the simple reason that God is at work in their lives. While we want to see them thrive in a life free of hurt and pain, suffering can be good.
Transcribe →Kids and Caffeine Pouches
1w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeSeveral years a thirty-something friend of mine called to tell me what happened to him while he was driving. His heart began beating out of his chest. His face turned red, and he began to sweat profusely. Thinking he was having a heart attack, he drove to the ER, only to learn he was over-consuming caffeine. Because of the way caffeine can effect one’s physical health, experts are increasingly concerned about the use of caffeine products among our children and teens. For several years now, caffeine-infused energy drinks have been the target of warnings. Now, kids are using caffeine pouches as a pick-me-up, which are placed between the cheek and gums to deliver a quick dose of caffeine into the bloodstream, each one being equal to up to two cups of coffee. There are a host of side effects, along with tolerance and withdrawal. Parents, teach your kids to stay away from caffeine pouches as a way to steward the health of their bodies to the glory of God.
Transcribe →The Power of Parental Transparency
1w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeOne of the most heart-breaking and difficult aspects of being a Christian parent who longs to see his kids embrace and mature in their own faith, is the rocky nature of adolescent faith. Much of their “wavering” is simply a part of the teenage territory and the process of adopting their family’s faith as their own. But maybe an even greater amount of that wavering is rooted in their humanness. . . a reality that we share with them. Let’s face it – we are all sinful and fallen people whose lives – just like the lives of so many Biblical characters – have always been marked by periods of doubt, struggle, problems, and failures. The Bible is filled with stories of rebellious human beings who were called by God to be His people, but who often stubbornly followed their own will and way. Becoming transparent with our kids about the presence of these realities in our own lives can be liberating for them. It not only allows them to see us in our full humanity and dependence on God, but it gives them permission to struggle, doubt, and sometimes fail.
Transcribe →The AI Fears of the Young
1w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeI still can’t stop thinking about something that happened back in May and the college commencement season. There were several news reports that popped up regarding the response of graduating students to things that their commencement speakers were saying. It seems that concerns over Artificial Intelligence spurred on choruses of boos at a variety of schools where the commencement speakers were touting AI. One of the main reasons for the pushback is the fact that college graduates are watching the quick advance of AI and wondering if the technology will actually take their place in the job market. During a recent dinner out in a restaurant, I interacted with a waitress who had graduated with a dual degree in IT and Marketing. She blamed her lack of a job on the presence of AI in those fields. I believe that the response of these students is warranted as we have to tap the brakes and exercise caution regarding the space we carve out for Ai in our lives.
Transcribe →Steps to Handling Anxiety
2w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeEvery now and then I come across some words from a social media influencer that are good, true, right, and helpful. That’s what I encountered on an Instagram reel posted by Matt Chenard. In his post on anxiety, Chenard shares four steps he takes when he feels anxious and depressed, steps that we can share with our kids. First, pray about the good things in your life. Thank God for His goodness and blessings. Second, pray about what’s on your heart. Tell God what it is you are anxious about. Surrender it to Him and ask Him to carry it. Third, pray for wisdom and discernment to know what you can and can’t control. Pray for wisdom on how to best take action on that which you can control. And fourth, speak truth to your mind and heart. Meditate on God’s Word. Read it to yourself, making His truth louder than the lies the world would have us believe. I love these four steps, and I believe they can be used in transformative ways to help your kids battle their anxiety.
Transcribe →Your Sin Will Find You Out
2w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeThere’s a story about a thirteen year old boy and something that happened to him on a day in April nineteen fifty nine that reminds me of a way we parents should be praying regularly for our kids. Steve Saner was growing up in Cincinnati and was big fan of the Reds. Without his parents knowing it, Saner would often skip school on game days to head over to Crosley field to catch a game. He would move around the stadium, trying to catch balls that would go into the stands. On that day in in nineteen fifty nine, Saner was standing behind the right field fence when the Red’s Ted Kluszewski hit a home run over the outstretched glove of Pirate’s right fielder Roberto Celemente. A news photographer from the Cincinnati Enquirer captured a photo of the moment, and when Saner’s father saw his son’s picture in the paper, the boy’s cover was blown. Saner was caught! So, what should we pray? That our kids’ sin will be exposed, so that we have an opportunity to set them straight!
Transcribe →Freeplay and Resiliency
2w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeLast Spring I had two of my grandkids with me during a visit to the community where I spent my elementary and middle school years. I was prompted to take a trip down memory lane when right at noon, the fire whistle at the local volunteer fire department let out that familiar siren. I stopped dead in my tracks. “Did you hear that?” I asked the kids. “Yes”, they replied. “That’s the twelve-o’clock whistle, and there’s another one that will go off again at five pm.” During the 1960’s it was those regularly timed test whistles that my mother was talking about whenever she sent us out the door play, telling us to come home for lunch when you hear the twelve o’clock whistle, and home for dinner when you hear the five o’clock whistle. We were involved in what was called unsupervised and unstructured free play. Researchers now tell us that this is what builds resiliency and agency in kids. Parents, we help our kids when we pull back on the helicopter parenting.
Transcribe →Teaching Kids to Read the Bible
2w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeI once heard someone say, you tell me how your spend your time, and I’ll tell you who or what your God is. For kids growing up in today’s over-scheduled smartphone-saturated world, it’s reasonable to assume that most kids spend far too little time or no time at all reading and studying their Bibles. This means that they spend more time focused on nurturing their allegiance to the idols of this world, rather than on nurturing their relationship with the One true God. We need to make it priority one to model regular Bible reading to our kids, while involving them in learning how to read the Bible by reading with us. Teach your children read the Bible regularly. Teach your children to read the Bible rightly, by seeking to understand it’s intended meaning rather what they might think it means. And finally, read the Bible repetitiously, pondering, meditating on, and re-reading a passage. Parents, lead your children into embracing a hunger and thirst to know God’s Word.
Transcribe →Teaching Truths to Kids
2w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeI have an eleven year old grandson who has a history of asking deep theological questions that are not always easily answered. For example, he recently asked how old Adam and Eve were when they sinned. I wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question as we don’t really know. However, his curious mind was at work, so we were able to talk about our first parents and their rebellion against God. In a recent article, Lauren Groves, author of the Toddler Theology board book series, tells us that it’s never too early to teach theology to our kids. Parents, you need to know that the culture is catechizing our kids twenty four seven. They are constantly learning. This means that we need to take the words of Deuteronomy six seriously by looking for and taking any and every opportunity to teach our kids from birth about the things of the Lord. We are called to pass down the truths of the faith to the next generation. Are you taking the time to teach your kids about God?
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