As a mom of 6 kids ranging from 7-15, I am managing different personalities at different stages of life, and it can be a struggle. As you can imagine, I have a lot of time in my car dropping off and picking up kids to 3 different schools, plus their appointments, activities, and errands. I have found that I love listening to podcasts as I check off my list for the day. Here are a few that I would recommend (in no particular order).
Podcasts to Listen to:
Feeding the Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Today’s Teens
This is a weekly podcast on parenting teens and launching them into the world with Dr. Ken Wilgus, author of the book “Feeding the Mouth That Bites You,” hosted by Ashley Parrish and Jessica Pfeiffer.
Why I Listen
Each week, they go through practical issues that teens today are facing and how best to address them as a parent. Dr. Ken equips parents to prepare their kids for the future and help them build independence as they get older. He tackles trends, shares his wisdom, and discusses how teens think and what they actually need from us.
Wire Talk (with Karen Stubbs)
Wire Talk with Karen Stubbs is a weekly podcast designed to encourage and equip moms through the precious, busy, challenging, and life-changing journey of motherhood. Hosted by Sunny Williams, Wire Talk offers practical, biblical advice on everything from toddler discipline to teenage dating and beyond!
Why I Listen
Listening to Karen feels like I’m sitting with a friend and getting wise counsel at a coffee shop. She is so encouraging of today’s moms, and each episode she gives practical tips on how we can implement the content no matter our kids’ age.
The Bible Recap (with Tara-Leigh Cobble)
If you’ve ever closed your Bible and thought, “What did I just read?” this podcast is for you! In about 8 minutes a day, this podcast will give you a summary and highlight reel of that day’s Bible reading from their 1-year chronological plan.
Why I listen:
I started this “read through the Bible” podcast in 2020, and then spring break hit and Covid took over our lives. Consequently, I didn’t finish, and I felt like a failure. But what imaginary contest was I trying to win? There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
So, I’m trying again this year, and I’m loving it. I listen to the daily Bible Chapters on my Bible App and then listen to Tara-Leigh’s short (less than 10-minute) recap. She helps clear up the challenging passages and looks for God in each one, calling it “Your God Shot.” She’s a delight to listen to.
The Culture Translator
This podcast from Axis is about translating pop culture to help parents and caring adults understand and disciple their teenagers. Each week, their team researches current topics to help you stay up to date on the music, movies, TV shows, and social media trends impacting your kids’ world. There are two formats:
- Published Fridays: The Culture Translator Newsletter. This is a simple reading of the weekly email. If reading more than a one-paragraph email feels like too much, this is your opportunity to have it read aloud to you instead.
- Published Mondays: This is a roundtable discussion of the topics covered in the Friday Newsletter.
Why I Listen:
The roundtable discussion forum has three or four adults who are decoding and analyzing new weekly trends that are happening with teens today. This gives me content that I can ask my teen about and see what her take on these trends may be. For each topic, they also will give you a starting question to ask your teen to begin these discussions and help develop a biblical worldview of each trend. This is usually a longer podcast (maybe an hour) so it takes me longer to get through.
Launch (with Jamie Ivy and Lisa Whittle)
Launching your kid into the world is no joke, whether you’re sending your kid to kindergarten or off to college. Some days we wonder if we’ve done anything right. One thing is for sure—we all want to do it well. Jamie and Lisa are here to help in your parenting journey. They are experienced but not experts, never perfect, always honest, and in the trenches with you.
Why I listen:
This is a fairly new podcast and only has 8 episodes as of right now, but they are coming back for season 2 soon. Jamie and Lisa share their struggles of learning to let their kids go. It won’t be long before I have my oldest graduating from high school. While Feeding the Mouth that Bites You equips you to help your teen get ready to be independent, this podcast seems to deal more with helping the parent cope with the fact that their child is growing up into new stages.
Made for This (with Jennie Allen)
Jennie Allen is the 2-time New York Times bestselling author of “Find Your People” and “Get Out of Your Head” and is also the founder and visionary of IF: Gathering. She is a passionate leader following God’s call on her life to catalyze a generation to live what they believe. This podcast has short, fun, true, real conversations about the struggles we are facing and the God that sets us free. Two episodes release each week – one episode of Jennie teaching and one interview.
Why I listen:
Jennie has such a heart to empower women to become who God has designed them to be. She tackles a range of topics that everyone will struggle with, shares how to effectively pray, and gives advice on how to overcome or learn to deal with life’s obstacles. Both her teaching and interviews bring so much wisdom and encouragement. Most of her topics are geared toward women, but a lot of them are for any believer. I forward a lot of these to my husband. Jennie is so practical and easy to listen to, yet she makes difficult topics easy to understand.
Equip and Empower (with Christine Caine)
We live in a world that whispers that you’re not enough. That you are defeated. That you are disqualified because of your past. These lies are everywhere, every day. You read about them, hear about them, and interact with them. But Christine Caine is here to speak above that noise with the truth of how God sees you, and who He’s created you to be, so you can make His name famous! Christine will equip and empower you to create change in this world and live out your God-given destiny.
Why I listen:
Christine is someone I turn to when I need a good kick in the pants, fist in the air, and an “AMEN!” ready to shout. She’s got so much energy and is eager for women to understand their role in God’s big plan. She fires me up!
Along for the Ride (with JJ Campbell)
Along For The Ride is a one-of-a-kind interactive podcast created for families. This podcast is created to help you have more good times with your family while riding in the car. When you’re with your kids on a road trip, out running errands, or driving to visit friends and family, the car is a great place to connect and have fun!
Why I listen:
This is a new podcast for me and fun for the whole family. JJ hosts an interactive game show to listen to in the car. Questions like “Which one would you give up for the rest of your life? TV, Computer, Smartphone, or video games?” You might be surprised by their answers and it can lead to more fun and more discussions. She plays all kinds of different games to keep the whole family entertained.
Some Additional Podcasts Our Team Listens to Regularly:
- Raising Boys and Girls with Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan
- Fierce Marriage with Ryan and Selena Frederick
- Dad Tired with Jerrad Lopes
The Christian Parenting Podcast Network curates the best parenting podcasts to help you leave perfection at the door and help you to become the perfectly imperfect parent God has called you to be. You can not go wrong with any of the podcasts showcased here.