5 Ways to Prepare Kids for Tough Times

I’ve faced seasons where the ground felt like it was shifting beneath my feet—through infant loss, the complexities of adoption, chronic illness, and even my house burning to the ground. I won’t lie. I felt sad and mad and ALL the things. (My story’s here.) But I held onto God, and He held onto me.

When my kids face suffering (and they will), I want them to have the deep, personal connection to God’s Word that sustained me during those times.

That means I have to be intentional about building an unshaking foundation of faith now. We want our kids anchored to the Rock. The best way I’ve found to build that anchor? Conversations. Lots of them.

5 Ways to Help Kids Build a Faith that Stands Firm:

1. Know God

If a child is going to hold onto God, they have to know who God is and that He’s worth holding onto. Memorizing a list of God’s attributes will help kids to know about God, but it won’t help them know God. The best way for our children to get to know God is to read His Word. When we read and talk through the Bible with our kids, it becomes a living story. Kids see who God is, how He acts, that He comes through for His people, and that He has their best interests at heart, even when the situation looks dire.

2. Discern Lies

When we’re going through a hard time, we can be tempted to listen to lies. “God doesn’t really love me.” “I’m all alone.” “I must not be worthy of good things.” “If I tried harder, bad things wouldn’t happen to me.” Lies come from the world, from Satan, and even from ourselves. We have to teach our kids to fight those lies that can be tempting to believe when we’re feeling down. God does love us, and He doesn’t leave us. He didn’t promise His followers an easy life. Jesus said we will have trouble, but all of it is for our good and God’s glory. And it’s all worth it, even when it doesn’t feel like it in the moment. Kids learn the truth to fight these lies with when we read the Bible together, see truth in action, and then hide those verses in our hearts.

3. Build a Community of Support

Faith wasn't meant to be lived out in isolation, especially during a storm. Kids need a cloud of witnesses around them—parents, mentors, and friends who can pour truth into them when their own reserves are low. When we’re walking through hard seasons, we need people who will pray with us, sit in the silence with us, and remind us of what is true when we’re too tired to remember. By fostering these relationships within the family and the church now, we ensure our kids have a safety net of believers ready to hold them up when life gets heavy.

4. Practice Lament & Prayer

Standing firm doesn’t mean pretending everything is okay; it means taking our "not okay" moments to the One who cares. Our kids need to see that they don't have to hide their sadness or frustration from God. He can handle our emotions. Our kids will see this is true when we read through the Bible with them and they see God’s people crying out to Him in honesty. God wants us to bring our emotions to Him for healing. When we come to God, we start to see His goodness overshadowing our problems, just like the hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" says—the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

5. Create Consistent Connection

A foundation isn't built during the storm; it’s built in the quiet days of preparation. If we want our kids to have a faith that holds, we have to create a daily rhythm where they’re consistently engaging with God’s Word. This is why I love discussion-based Bible study. It enables me to guide my kids into discovering who God is, that He loves them, and that He has a plan for them. That plan includes tough times, but just like He didn’t leave His people in the Bible, He won’t leave them. They can cry out to Him, and He’ll always comfort them.

The Time is Now

Building a firm foundation to carry your kids through the tough stuff is a journey that takes time.

I designed the Talk Through the Bible discussion guides to empower busy parents to start that journey, leading your kids through 20-30 minute discussions of each chapter of the Bible to build a solid foundation of faith.