At D6 conference, pastor encourages parents to build resilient, spiritually grounded children in digital age

At the D6 Asia Online Family Conference 2026 on May 15, Pastor Sharon Chong, founder and head coach of Gen Brave International and co-author of “Planted with Purpose”, encouraged parents, grandparents, and ministry leaders to intentionally cultivate emotional resilience and spiritual grounding in children by focusing on everyday discipleship rather than performance or perfection.

The D6 Family movement, based on Deuteronomy 6, seeks to equip churches and families for generational discipleship by connecting church and home. Supported by the Asia Evangelical Alliance Family & Children Commission, D6 Asia conferences encourage families and churches across Asia to work together in passing on faith to the next generation amid growing concerns over generational faith decline.

Speaking during a session titled “Strong Inside: Building Emotionally Resilient and Spiritually Grounded Gen Alpha Kids,” Chong described resilience not as toughness or emotional suppression, but as the ability to recover, persevere and continue trusting God through difficulty.

“Resilience is not built in big moments,” Chong said. “It is built in small everyday moments.”

Using the metaphor of a garden, Chong told participants that every parent is “a gardener,” continually planting seeds into the hearts of children through words, attitudes and responses.

“The question is, what are you planting?” she said.

Chong warned that parents cannot build confidence while constantly criticizing, nor can they develop resilience while removing every struggle from a child’s life.

“You cannot plant faith while modeling fear,” she said.

Throughout the session, Chong outlined five “seeds” parents should intentionally plant in children.

The first was identity before achievement. She said many children silently ask whether they are enough or whether they matter, and tying identity solely to performance can make failure emotionally devastating.

“I love you for who you are,” Chong encouraged parents to tell their children. “I’m proud of your effort.”

A second key principle was allowing children to struggle appropriately rather than rescuing them from every difficulty.

“A child who is always rescued never becomes resilient,” she said.

Chong also emphasized emotional coaching, encouraging parents to notice emotions, name them and normalize them rather than dismissing children’s feelings.

“When we dismiss emotions, children don’t learn regulation,” she said. “They learn suppression.”

She repeatedly stressed the importance of “connection before correction,” encouraging parents to build emotional safety and trust before attempting discipline.

Faith, she said, must also become part of everyday family life rather than something reserved only for Sundays.

“If faith only appears on Sunday, it won’t appear in crisis,” Chong said. “Let your children see you pray. Let them see you trust God.”

The final “seed” focused on prioritizing character over image by celebrating qualities such as integrity, honesty, courage and perseverance.

In contrast, Chong identified several “weeds” parents should remove, including overcorrection, overprotection, fear-based parenting, comparison and emotional reactivity.

“Children absorb our atmosphere more than our advice,” she said.

She also offered practical tools for families, including maintaining five positive interactions for every correction, creating one-on-one connection time without devices and teaching emotional regulation skills such as breathing exercises and positive self-talk.

“The voice children hear most becomes the voice they carry inside,” Chong said.

During the Q&A session, participants raised concerns about perfectionism, anxiety and emotional struggles among children and teenagers.

Responding to a grandparent’s question about a perfectionist granddaughter, Chong explained how negative thought patterns often fuel emotional distress. She introduced the concept of “ANTs” — automatic negative thoughts — and encouraged caregivers to help children identify and replace destructive internal messages with “PETs,” or positive empowering thoughts.

She also emphasized emotional coaching techniques that include noticing emotions, naming feelings and validating children’s experiences before offering correction or solutions.

“Catch the emotion before correcting the behavior,” she said.

Chong further addressed questions about discipline, explaining that biblical correction should aim to correct behavior while preserving relationship and protecting identity.

“We can discipline without damaging a child’s spirit,” she said.

She cautioned parents against fear-based discipline that produces outward compliance while fostering inward resentment.

Instead, she encouraged parents to apologize when necessary and to model humility and restoration within family relationships.

Addressing concerns about Gen Alpha children and their ability to focus in an increasingly digital environment, Chong challenged the common assumption that younger children have inherently short attention spans. She argued that if children truly had short attention spans, they would not be able to spend hours engaged on their devices and gadgets.

Instead, she said many children today are highly overstimulated by constant exposure to fast-paced media and information. Chong cautioned parents and adults against approaching children with negative assumptions, saying children are often highly perceptive and can sense criticism or disapproval through tone and body language.

Despite growing digital distractions, Chong said children still deeply value genuine human connection. Drawing from her experience working with Gen Alpha, Gen Z and millennials, she emphasized that meaningful connection does not always require long conversations, but can be built through small, intentional moments such as hugs, encouragement and brief but focused interactions.

She encouraged parents to create more positive than corrective interactions and to understand each child’s unique emotional needs and love language. Even a few minutes of sincere connection, she said, can leave a lasting impact on a child’s emotional and spiritual development.

“They still long for human connection,” she said.

Simple acts such as hugs, short conversations and intentional presence can leave lasting spiritual and emotional impact, she added.

Chong also encouraged children’s ministry workers and teachers not to underestimate the influence of small acts of faithfulness toward children from non-Christian homes.

Sharing her own testimony of attending church for the first time through a school teacher’s invitation, Chong said those early experiences left a lasting spiritual imprint on her life.

“You are sowing seeds,” she said. “Every act of love, every prayer, every moment matters.”

The session concluded with a reminder that parenting and discipleship are long-term spiritual investments whose results may not always be immediately visible.

“You are not just raising children,” Chong said. “You are discipling hearts.”