This publication by Family Life (a ministry of the old Campus Crusades for Christ International) is a 5-part audio program meant to guide kids through their puberty years and beyond. I recently went through a good chunk of it with my son who recently turned 13, and we found it both fun and informative.

I decided to take him on a guy’s weekend filled with baseball and fast food—about 3-hour drive away. He called it “the best week ever” because of all the food, but also “the most sus week ever” because of the sex talk. It was fun and awkward and memorable, and I’m glad I chose to do it this way—together.

The Getaway Kit

The Getaway Kit that I have (published in 2012) comes in 3 parts: a parent’s manual, a youth journal, and a collection of 7 CDs plus a CD-ROM that has all the session on MP3. I actually got my copy used from a friend, so the youth journal was missing. No matter to me, though, because I actually chose to re-write the entire journal by hand into a notebook that I gave my son—illustrations and all—as a memento of the weekend. I also left the MP3 files on the device we let him use for audio books and music, so he’ll be able to return to it…privately, when he’s got more questions, and once he realizes that girls aren’t as “sus” as he now assumes.

The 5-part audio program is broken down into the following lessons:

• Part 1: Beginning the Journey – a discussion about the importance of keeping the Bible as our map, parents as our guides, and Jesus as our compass.
• Part 2: Running with the Heard – a discussion about the dangers of peer pressure and the influence friends can have.
• Part 3: Ready for an Upgrade? – a discussion about puberty and “the talk.”
• Part 4: Destination Le Pure – A discussion about purity before marriage (with optional lessons on pornography, homosexuality, and sexual experimentation).
• Part 5: Crossing the Date Line – a discussion about dating.

Our Fun (and Funny) Experience

We only made it through half of Part 4, because my son was simply done with it by then, and I don’t blame him. But, Man, it was so funny…

Because Dad wasn’t the one talking about these things, he got into the habit of talking back to the radio as we listened to it together in the car, and I was happy to let him express himself. When the sex-talk came up, for example, he said aloud: “I’m not going to listen to this anymore. It’s waaay too sus. I mean, I’m listening, but I’m trying not to.” I was OK with that, because he’s stuck in the car with me. Where else could he go?

I had bought a box of penny-rolls from the bank for us to go through on the trip, so “instead of listening,” he simply unrolled pennies looking for wheat cents. I knew things were sinking in as he did so, though, because when Dennis Rainey made the clincher comment about the mechanics of sex, all I heard from the back seat was “WHAT!??!” It was hilarious, but I had to hold it in.

I knew that we were finally done with the sessions in the middle of Part 4, because my son finally yelled at the radio: “If you don’t want me to think about sex, then why do you keep talking about it!?” I know that I would never have gotten such a reaction from him had I been saying all this stuff myself, so kudos to the Rainey’s for being the bad guys in all this!

Critique and Conclusion

Like my son, though, I do think they extended the conversation way longer than it needed to be. Parts 1-3 should be their own section for kids approaching puberty, and parts 4-5 should be a section for those who’ve just gone through it. As of yet, my son has no concept of why purity would ever be relevant, so virtually everything in Part 4 was nonsense to him. I’m glad he’s got the files available to listen to on his own time, but still, it should be its own separate program.

Overall, this was a very useful tool for us to go through as father-and-son, and I’ll probably do the same for my daughter in a few years’ time. The audio files have sections specifically for girls and specifically for boys, but overall it can be used for both. Both of us agree, “I’m glad that’s over!” and I for one am glad that I chose to do it this way.

©2024 E.T.