Teenage dating is an issue so fraught with difficulty, says Centennial Park rector the Rev Warwick de Jersey, that parents had better be clear on what's worth saying and what's not.
"Everybody wants to be a good parent but everyone knows they could do a better job," says Mr de Jersey.
That is the motivation behind St Matthias', Centennial Park's decision to run a series of parenting courses for the Eastern Suburbs community, beginning with "your teenager and dating' next week.
"We want to give people a biblical framework and help them to understand how their parenting fits into that," he says.
Father of three, including a daughter who is "13-going-on-23', Mr de Jersey is familiar with parents discussing how difficult it can be to get through to teenagers.
He has lost count of the number of non-Christian parents who have talked to him about teenage parties and relationships descending into chaos.
"They see Christian families turning up a different result and they want to know, "How did your kids end up like that?'" he says.
The teenage dating seminar will involve input from sex therapist Dr Amelia Clarke on the damage experimentation can have, as well as testimonies from parents who have seen kids through those difficult years.
"I think it's a natural way to introduce people to how much sense the gospel makes," Mr de Jersey says.
Subsequent weeks will include seminars such as "children and imagination', which addresses the impact of computer games, television shows and novels, as well as talks on "your child and discipline'.
The evening is part of a broader St Matthias' strategy to engage the community on the broader topic of the family.
"Whether it's me and my aging parents, or how I look after my toddlers " equipping baby-boomers to take care of their parents is as important as showing them how to raise generation X or Y," says Mr de Jersey.
"Your teenager and dating' will run at St Matthias' Church, Oxford St, Paddington on June 10 from 7.00-9.00 pm.
More information is available through the St Matthias' website.
