Homefront Kids 13
Building a Culture that Loves Life – Part 1
To the parents: Abortion is one of the most difficult topics to address with your children because it involves life and death and the consequences of the misuse of human sexuality. These topics can be painful and heavy for adults, let alone for children. Many of the resources will offer talking points and ideas for you to discuss with your children as you feel is appropriate when they are ready. For that reason, the younger children’s versions focus on teaching correct principles that will give them a foundation of truth to arm them for the future while still protecting their innocence. We hope this information will prepare you as parents to navigate these conversations with your children based on their individual maturity. The purpose of this unit is to teach the importance of babies and our role as their protectors. We want to create a culture where babies are loved and valued and where every person’s right to life is upheld. Our hearts go out to those who have experienced the pain of abortion for themselves or through someone they love. No matter what choices have been made in the past, we recognize that each of us can choose to protect children now.
ABOUT THIS UNIT
Main Ideas
1) Human life begins at conception and is entitled to recognition regardless of stage of development and protection from conception until natural death.
2) Overturning Roe v. Wade did not make abortion illegal throughout the United States. It simply returned the question of whether or not abortion should be legal to each state.
Activities
1) Build your own “mini Earth” with layers that you can EAT!!!
2) Play guard a “dragon egg” (ball) while other players try to steal it without being tagged.
3) Discuss why mothers and fathers are important and their special role with children.
Daily Resources
Short daily resources for discussing Homefront topics with your children.
Click to expand the daily resource you want to view.
NOTE TO PARENTS: As we go forward in this lesson and unit, don’t be surprised if your children have some questions about sex. Use it as an opportunity to teach your children through natural conversations about sex. Remember, in Unit 5 we explained that parents are the best teachers of their children, especially when it comes to teaching their children about sex. Research shows that parents who discuss sex with their children openly, honestly, and frequently set up their children for healthy sexuality in their adults lives. A Parent’s Guide is a great resource in helping parents know what to teach their children at different ages. Look through the guide by clicking the yellow button above and think of what you need to teach your children about sex.
DO NOT USE; THIS IS HIDDEN
Resource 1: Marriage and Family are the Bedrock of Society
Children thrive when raised by both their mother and father. Marriage serves as the bedrock of society, providing the stable foundation needed to support children, families, communities, nations, and the world.
Parents:
Strong Families, Sustainable Societies
View Now
Family:
Marriage and Family are the Bedrock of Society View Now
Discuss:
How is marriage the bedrock of society?
Resource 2: Why Marriage Matters Related to Abortion
“Why Marriage Matters” highlights the connection between strong marraiges and lower abortion rates, showing how committed families protect life.
Parents:
The End of Roe v. Wade? (video will begin at 17 minutes from this link, we recommend stopping at 24:22)
View Now
Family:
The breakdown of marriage contributes to abortion. View Now
Discuss:
Why is the marriage relationship important for individuals and families?
Resource 3: Discussion/Break
Before moving on, stop and discuss these questions as a family. Use the questions below to spark meaningful conversation and help your family apply the principles you have learned so far.
Family:
Younger children, older children and teen discussion question. View Now
Discussion Questions:
Younger children questions (3-7 years old):
Why is marriage important to society? Who is protected when men and women marry?
Older children questions (8-12 years old):
Why are communities important? How can you strengthen your community to support families?
Teen questions (12+ years old):
How can understanding the Relationship Attachment Model help decrease relational poverty? Does following the RAM strengthen families?
Resource 4: Honoring Fatherhood: The Connection Between Abortion and Fatherlessness
Resource 5: Discussion/Break
Before moving on, stop and discuss these questions as a family. Use the questions below to spark meaningful conversation and help your family apply the principles they have learned so far.
Family:
Younger, older children, and teen discussion questions
Younger children’s questions (3-7 years old):
- What role does your father play in taking care of your family?
- How have male role models in your life impacted you?
- How do they support famlies?
Older children questions (8-12 years old):
- What has your dad or father figure taught you?
- How is he unique from other relationships?
Teen questions (12+ years old)
How does having a committed husband in the home impact his wife and family?
Resource 6: Honoring Motherhood: Greatest Protectors of the Preborn
“Honoring Motherhood” explores how mothers serve as the greatest defenders of their preborn children and the impact of their choices on life.
Parents:
Just a Mom
View Now
or
We are multitudes
View Now
Family:
Learn how mothers protect their babies
View Now
Discuss:
Why do mothers protect their children?
Resource 7: Discussion/Break
Before moving on, stop and discuss these questions as a family. Use the questions below to spark meaningful conversation and help your family apply the principles they have learned so far.
Family:
Younger, older children and teen questions
View Now
Younger children’s questions (3-7 years old):
- What do you think of when you hear “mama bear?”
- How do moms protect their children?
Older children questions (8-12 years old):
- How do mothers protect their babies?
- Who will protect babies if mothers do not?
Teen questions (12+ years old)
When mothers understand abortion, may women choose life. How is society impacted when innocent lives are protected and given a chance to life?
Resource 8: Every Life Matters
“Every Life Matters” explores the truth that every person – no matter how small – is worthy of dignity, care, and the chance to live.
Parents:
The Most Important Questions About Abortion
View Now
Family:
Why every life matters – no matter how small
View Now
Discuss:
Does a baby in the womb have intrinsic worth? What determines our worth?
Resource 9: Prenatal Development
Resource 10: Discussion/Break
Before moving on, stop and discuss these questions as a family. Use the questions below to spark meaningful converstation and help your family apply the principles they have learned so far.
Family:
Younger children, older children and teen discussion question.
View Now
Discuss:
Younger/Older children questions (3-12 years old):
Looking at the “What Preborn Babies Can Do!” infographic from Resource 9, what surprised you the most about preborn babies? What do you most want to share?
Teen questions (12+ years old):
From what you learned about a preborn’s development, what is the most persuasive to you to combat the idea that a fetus is just a clump of cells?
Review
Role Play #1
Role Play #1
Younger Children Scenario:
At school, you hear classmates saying that family can be anything and that marriage isn’t important to have a family. They say marriage is just piece of paper, afterall. What would you say to share that marriage is important because it protects children?
Response:
Talking Points:
- Studies show that children born to married parents tend to perform better educationally, socially, and financially, even when researchers account for factors like parents’ education and age.
- Children born to married parents are also 8% more likely to have solid reading and math skills – and 14% more likely to get a college degree.
- Homes with married parents tend to have lower rates of domestic violence and abuse.
- Married-parents families are statistically less likely to live in poverty and rely on welfare.
- Kids in these families are happier, healthier, and more likely to thrive.
Older Children Scenario:
In school, you hear that society depends on technology to be strong. How would you share that married mothers and fathers are the most fundamental part of societies?
Response:
Talking Points:
- Technology can’t produce the next generation – only families can.
- Strong societies depend on children being raised to become responsible, capable adults, and research consistently shows that kids do best when raised by their married mother and father.
- Married parents provide children with stability and a consistent model of cooperation, love, and responsibility. That stability builds trust, empathy, and resilience – qualities societies need more than new gadgets.
- Technology may fuel progress, but it can’t replace the human relationships that form the foundation of a stable society. Married mothers and fathers nurture the very people who will invent, manage, and use technology responsibly.
Teen Scenario:
When learning about different movements of the 1960s at school, you start seeing how marriage began to unravel due to contraceptives and changing attitudes toward sex outside of marriage. You decide to creat a project that highlights the consquences of marriage unraveling. What would be the main points of your project? Ultimately, who does marriage protect primarily?
Response:
Talking Points:
- Widespread use of contraceptives separated sex from the expectation of marriage and children.
- Cultural attitudes shifted to view sex outside of marriage as normal and marriage as optional.
- Divorce rates rose sharply as commitment was seen as less essential.
- Cohabitation increased, replacing marriage for many couples but offering less stability.
- More children born outside of marriage, often without stabel two-parent homes.
- Weakened communities as stable familes declined, increasing crime and instability.
- Children are protected most by marriage
Role Play #2
Role Play #2
Younger Children Scenario:
During recess, a teacher shares her ultrasound picture with other teachers and talks about how tiny the baby is. Based on the story, “Horton Hears a Who,” from Resource 8, what would you say?
Response:
Talking Point:
- Horton’s lesson: “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
- An ultrasound shows that the baby is already a real, living person, just very tiny.
- Just like Horton protected the Whos even when others couldn’t see them, we should value and protect babies before birth.
- Size or visibility doesn’t change a person’s worth.
- Every child deserves care, love, and protection, no matter how early in life they are.
Older Children Scenario:
Some moms at church are talking about their pregnancy. One mom is 12 weeks pregnant, and the other is 26 weeks pregnant. What would you share with them about their baby at this stage? Information can be drawn from the “What Preborn Babies Can Do!” infographic from Resource 9.
Response:
Talking Point:
- Babies can:
- hiccup, bend his/her body, and react to loud noises
- move arms and stretch, open jaw, and “breath” amniotic fluid
- smel, suck swallow, yawn, and feel by touch
- taste flavors from his/her mom’s meals through amniotic fluid
- hear and recognize his/her mom’s voice, which baby prefers
- vision is developing
- respond to familiar stories read to him/her while in the womb
Teen Scenario:
An argument comes in class about abortion. The debate alternates between two main themes: that abortion is a woman’s choice since it’s her body and that a fetus is just a clump of cells. Based on what you learned in Resource 8 and 9, want would you share?
Response:
Talking Point:
- Pregnancy involves two bodies – the mother’s and the baby’s.
- The baby has unique DNA from the moment of conception – not the same as the mother’s body.
- Protecting the most vulnerable (unborn children) is a responsibility of society.
- From conception, the embryo is a living a human being – growing, developing, and needing only time and nourishment.
- By the end of the first trimester, the baby has fingers, toes, and organs – clearly more than “just cells.”
- Science confirms life begins at conception: grother, development, and a distinct genetic code all show this is a new human life.
Reflect
Reflect
Parents:
Review some additional Homefront Project articles/videos regarding Abortion from our “Secrets of Abortion” and/or our “Excusing Away Abortion” units.
Secrets of Abortion:
View Now
Excusing Away Abortion:
Family:
- What did you learn?
- What were you surprised by?
- Do you understand anything differently now?
- With whom can you share or teach what you learned?
Discuss:
Which was your favorite resource or video?
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