Radically Intentional Parenting
Radical intentional parenting is how Davis Carman describes his path in parenthood with his wife, Rachael. He recently sat with Yvette Hampton of Schoolhouse Rocked in a 3-part video series, to talk about his top 10 parenting decisions that have shaped the culture of their family. Davis and his wife, Rachael, have seven children who were all homeschooled through graduation.
The Hardest Part of Parenting
In the first video, Davis addresses the issue that makes parenting so challenging. He begins to list out 4 out of the 10 most important parenting decisions that he believes helped counter the culture. He asked his wife, Rachael, along with his young adult children, to contribute to this helpful list.
- Church, devotions, and family worship
- Meal times together
- Discipline
- Kids, kids, and more kids
Intentional Parenting is Necessary
A parent’s greatest desire is that our obedience in training up kids towards righteousness will be fruitful. Great parenting doesn’t just happen. It takes intentional thought, action, and unity with your spouse to stay on a healthy path. While there is no perfect formula, we never want to throw in the towel on our stewardship.
In the second video, we see the decisions that arise around the middle school and high school years. Our choices can have big consequences, positive or negative. The significance of conversations and connections becomes even greater a priority. Davis dives into 4 big decisions he gave a lot of consideration and prayer over in this season.
- Education (public, private, or homeschool)
- Extracurricular activities
- Sleepovers
- Bikinis, haircuts, and other fashion statements
Radical Intention with Older Children
Parenting teens and young adults is coming sooner than you think. Thankfully, Davis has survived it to tell us about it. He details his experiences with his older children, and their desires for devices, dating, and even their journey to marriage.
The habit of conversations and the fruit of relationship building over the years is crucial. The scripture memory, the uncomfortable discussions on the hard topics, and practicing the two pieces of Godly instruction in everyday life now come into play. In the third video, we hear all about Davis’ approach to these topics.
- TV, movies, phones, games, and the web
- Dating, courting, and marriage preparation
Be intentional. Make the hard decisions. Think though things. Be unified as a couple on all these big decisions. Do your best. Rely on God. Know that He is sovereign and in control, but also know that your kids are going to make their decisions. Your job is to persevere, stick with it, not give up, and have lots and lots of conversations because relationships can be messy. They can be hard, but boy, the harvest is coming if you don’t give up, if you persevere, if you trust God, a lot of good fruit can come.
– Davis Carman