He begins the text in earnest by surveying the rampant pessimism and hopelessness surrounding the world’s perception of teenagers, and calls on parents to reject this disabling attitude and adopt instead an optimistic recognition of the opportunities these years open up for God to work in the teen’s life (19, 22, 27). Tripp divides the text into three divisions-first seeking to clearly define the issues at stake for families with teenagers, then advising parents on what goals for these years should be, and finally concluding with some practical tips for shepherding teens toward these goals (7). In this text, Tripp gives parents tools that can make this time an unequaled “age of opportunity” in which they are able to engage, challenge, and equip their kids to not only survive, but to thrive and grow in their spiritual maturity and walk with Christ. Paul David Tripp, however, writes that the teenage years can be some of the most fruitful of the child-raising experience. In fact, most parents regard this time in their child’s life as a terrifying and frustrating period that they can only hope to endure without injury or scandal. If one were to ask the average parent of a teenager to describe the experience of raising teens in one word, “opportunity” would almost certainly not be the word they would use.
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