Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World

A Gospel-Centered Approach

by Laurie Krieg
With Matt Krieg
Foreword by Dan B. Allender

Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World

Paperback

$21.99

Length: 240 pages
Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.5 in
Published: January 13, 2026
Imprint: IVP
ISBN: 9781514012147

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"This book is a gift to all parents trying to navigate the complexity of raising children in today's world. ... I wish I could make this book required reading for every parent." - Christine Caine, founder of A21 and Propel Women

How can you raise your children to not just to survive but to thrive in a world filled with complex and confusing conversations about gender, sexuality, and relationships?

Navigating the birds and bees is challenging enough for parents. Kids today are faced with all sorts of complex issues, and often at a very early age. When is it too early to talk about sex? How can we begin to view the gender conversation? How do we help our kids not to approach the world fearfully but to walk into it confidently—even in the world's most controversial spaces?

Laurie and Matt Krieg believe that, as a Christian parent, you can approach sexual topics with confidence and grace by laying a solid gospel-centered foundation from early childhood onward. Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World offers you theological guidance, parenting principles, and age-appropriate insights for addressing complex issues in healthy ways: issues like marriage and singleness, God's design for sex, same-sex attraction and sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual abuse, and pornography.

In Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World, you'll learn to:

Present God's purpose for both marriage and singleness
Explain God's design for sex with clarity
Discuss gender identity from a biblical perspective
Protect your children from sexual abuse
Prevent porn addiction
Promote online safeguards

Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World is a timely and essential resource for today's Christian parents. Rather than retreating in fear, you can respond to the brokenness of the world with the goodness, truth, and beauty of the gospel and help your kids to do the same. Cast a gospel vision for your kids so that no matter how they experience sexual brokenness within them or around them, they have the tools they need to choose the way of Jesus no matter what.

REVIEWS

"As licensed mental health therapists and parents, we've seen firsthand how essential it is to engage our children in honest and hopeful conversations about bodies, desires, and identity—conversations many of us would rather avoid due to our own unresolved stories and the complex cultural narratives we navigate. Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World offers a lifeline for those of us seeking thoughtful ways to begin. With practical tools and gospel-centered insight, Laurie and Matt Krieg show how to transform moments of uncertainty into sacred opportunities for growth—both for parents and children. Their wise guidance equips you with the language you need to approach these conversations with clarity, courage, and grace."Jay Stringer, licensed mental health therapist and author of Unwanted and Desire, and Heather Stringer, licensed mental health therapist and author of Life in Ritual

"With wisdom, humility, gentleness, and the proper confidence of those who knows their subject and the fraught landscape it can sometimes bring, Laurie and Matt Krieg have, with Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World, offered their readers a book that we ought not simply read. Rather, we would do well to meditate upon it, carefully and with the same humility with which it has been penned. For all of us who long for our offspring to joyfully follow Jesus, this is a book that is no mere manual about children and sexuality; it is an invitation to partnering with God as he forms them into the image of the King."Curt Thompson, psychiatrist and author of The Soul of Desire and The Deepest Place

"Laurie and Matt Krieg offer a rich, biblical framework for parents navigating the complicated terrain of talking about sexuality with children. The Kriegs provide a breadth of wisdom from their own parenting journey and incorporate key insights from psychology, all the while helping parents feel more effective and less alone. There is no shortage of parenting books available today, but Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World is one that sifts through the noise and offers concrete, practical guidance and modeling of critical conversations around human sexuality."Julia Sadusky, licensed clinical psychologist and author of Start Talking to Your Kids about Sex: A Practical Guide for Catholics

"I'd love for every Christian parent to read this book. It covers not only what to say but also how to understand and communicate the important whys of God's plan for sexuality. This is a rich read, providing a powerful combination of personal experience, theological depth, and practical application."Juli Slattery, president and cofounder of Authentic Intimacy and author of Rethinking Sexuality

"This book is a gift to all parents trying to navigate the complexity of raising children in today's world. In Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World, Laurie and Matt Krieg have shared invaluable wisdom, insight, and understanding that is crucial in these times. I wish I could make this book required reading for every parent."Christine Caine, founder of A21 and Propel Women

"In a shaky world, Laurie and Matt Krieg offer parents an unshakable foundation. In Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World, the gospel is not just mentioned, it is unveiled as our real and practical hope. Like Jesus taught in Matthew 7, the Kriegs remind us that storms will come to every house, yet when we are grounded in God's truth, we remain unshaken. They lay a solid foundation and then walk us through how to live on it, equipping us to be parents who are full of faith, antifragile, firm in truth, and free from fear. We do not have to be intimidated or stressed about the future for our children. Grounded in God's truth, we stand unshaken and can raise kids who do the same."Megan Fate Marshman, author of Relaxed and teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church

Foreword by Dan Allender
Introduction

1. The Gospel: Lay the Foundation
2. The Gospel: Walk the Foundation
3. Marriage and Singleness: Lay the Foundation
4. Marriage and Singleness: Walk the Foundation
5. Gender: Lay the Foundation
6. Gender: Walk the Foundation
7. God's Design for Sex: Lay the Foundation
8. God's Design for Sex: Walk the Foundation
9. Honor Our Bodies: Lay the Foundation
10. Honor Our Bodies: Walk the Foundation
11. HonorGod with Our Minds: Lay the Foundation
12. Honor God with Our Minds: Walk the Foundation
Conclusion

Acknowledgments
Next Step Resources
Appendix A: How to Talk with Kids Between Ages Seven and Ten About Sex
Appendix B: What If We Suspect Something Sexually Abusive Has Happened to Our Kids?
Appendix C: Where Should I Send My Kids to School?
Notes

Moms on the Way

Savoring Childhood

My Heart--Christ's Home Retold for Children

Hope for Caregivers

Understanding Gender Dysphoria

Faith Foundations

Charlie Can't Sleep!

Abigail and the Waterfall

Knowing and Being Known

Mother to Son

ABOUT Laurie Krieg

Laurie Krieg is the director of parent programs and discipleship for The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender. Laurie and her husband, Matt, are cohosts of the Hole in My Heart podcast, coauthors of An Impossible Marriage, andlive in West Michigan with their three kids.

ABOUT Matt Krieg

Matt Krieg is a licensed professional counselor and director of counseling at Caring Well Counseling. Together, Laurie and Matt host the Hole in My Heart podcast. They live with their three children in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Raising Wise Kids in a Sexually Broken World

A Gospel-Centered Approach