Christianity.com states the difference between happiness and joy as: “Happiness is merely external, fleeting, and is only achievable on earth. Joy, on the other hand, is internal, selfless, sacrificial, and a spiritual connection with God. We need joy in our lives just as we need the Father and Jesus in our lives.”

I was praying about what to focus on this week. With the political climate currently upon us, choosing JOY over anxiety came to mind. Many of my friends have expressed anxiety over our current political and economic climate. When I feel anxiety creeping in, I have to focus on scripture, focus on faith, and train my mind to “think upon these things“. Our kids are living in this same conflicted climate, and whether we want to admit it or not, they are anxious. It’s our job to equip them with the tools they need to combat anxiety. And part of that “equipping” may include removing things from their lives and their minds.

We may need to evaluate what will bring our children JOY long-term vs what can provide temporary happiness. Cultural norms today may encourage us to be “happy” and find our own truths, no matter what. Truth is found in only one place, and real joy abides within that Truth. As adults, we realize that the things that may make them/us temporarily happy are sometimes the very things that can cause overall anxiety. Does social media come to mind?

I recently heard about this book by Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness . This #1 New York Times best seller is touted as: “A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.”

Yep, I want this book and I pray it gets into the hands of thousands of parents. There seems to finally be a movement away from screens (computers and phones) in both schools and at home. I acknowledge that SM can be and is used often in positive ways, but let’s be honest. It’s a tool that is also being misused and creating/feeding mental illness in our youth.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt offers recommendations to improve the mental health of our children and teens:

• We can delay access to smartphones and even avoid giving smartphones before high school
• We can limit access to social media until age 16
• We can insist on phone- free school days where students store their phones in the office or in lockers to create a distraction-free environment. 
• We can provide more real-world experiences in place of screen time, structured activities (sports, arts, music) and playing with friends to build social skills
• We can allow more unsupervised, free play leading to independence

I’m writing this list and thinking to myself, “THAT WAS MY CHILDHOOD!” Honestly, this best selling book, which don’t get me wrong, needs to be read and implemented, is simply describing childhoods of the past. And I’m going to add this to the list of suggestions:

• We can regularly read stories about faith and God’s love with our kids, providing hope for us all

I typically recommend children’s books or ways to Book Time With Our Kids.   I think this adult book about our kiddoes is worthy of our attention. This anxiety epidemic is certainly affecting adults, but the unfortunate reality is that more and more children seem to be experiencing anxiety. Common sense tells us what life-style changes have contributed to this phenomenon. Do we accept defeat or do we make changes in our homes?

Let’s learn scripture together and use God’s Word to combat lies. Let’s get our kids outside to just free-play. Let’s be firm and limit screen time and go against the norm with cell phone permissions. Let’s lead them in prayer and pray over them. Let’s read with them, words of faith and hope and real truth. James 1:2 reads “Today, I choose JOY”. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but we can choose to seek it and help our kids find it too. Let’s shut out the world and invite God’s truth and peace in…..thus choosing true joy.

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