Dear Dr. Meg,

My twelve-year-old son has a negative attitude about our daily devotion time. How can I encourage him toward spiritual truths in ways that he might be more responsive to?

Sincerely,

Dauntingly Devoted

Dear Devoted,

Your son’s reaction is not unusual. Many adolescents want to be independent and make their own decisions. Because of this, they seem to reject their parent’s ideas and attempt to exercise more control.

Here’s what I suggest: change things up for him and ask him what he thinks he can do differently to make devotions interesting. Tell him that you notice that he’s bored and ask how he thinks you can help the boredom to go away. If he says that he would like to stop doing devotions altogether, tell him that you understand what he’s saying, but that it’s important to keep going even if he’s bored. Tell him that you have struggled with the same thing (if you have) and that doing devotions is like going to school soccer practice, etc. It’s a part of life for your family.

Ask him if he wants to do them on his own or if he wants a different devotional book to use. If you…