CEF Vice President of Administration Fred Pry: ‘Instead of filling downtime with more mindless entertainment, parents can instead encourage their children to be refreshed by following Jesus’
For Immediate Release
August 25, 2025
ST. LOUIS — This year, as the nation prepares to celebrate Labor Day, many are reminded of the value of honoring their work and allowing for a day of refreshment and to commemorate the fruits of their labor. Likewise, children need refreshment, not only physically but also mentally and spiritually.
“Technology has played a major role in wiring our kids’ brains for instant gratification,” says an article from Akron Children’s Hospital about overstressed kids and how to help them. “From fast-paced video games to interactive toys that flash and play music to streaming TV shows and other entertainment, kids are used to constant stimulation and getting their desires met quickly.”
Pediatric psychologist, Dr. Laura Hlavaty, at Akron Children’s Hospital, said today’s busy families find tremendous value in taking regular breaks and establishing daily downtime or quiet time for kids of all ages —even adults. “Constant stimulation can be harmful in some ways,” she said. “Kids find it difficult to know what to do in unstructured times, especially when there are no screens. They struggle to sit still, relax, and unwind, and parents feel a responsibility to entertain their kids when they’re bored.”
“Instead of filling downtime with more mindless entertainment, parents can instead encourage their children to be refreshed by following Jesus,” says Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF) Vice President of Administration, Fred Pry. “This is why CEF encourages and equips parents to implement devotional time — so children can enjoy time with the Lord.”
The CEF “The Wonder Devotional Book” and “Every Day with God” devotionals help guide children in their walk with God as they learn more about Him and themselves through their devotional time.
Besides physical rest for kids, adequate sleep is necessary for brain development and prevents a multitude of mental health issues, like depression. When parents connect adequate physical rest for kids to good health, it becomes easy to connect spiritual refreshment for kids to good spiritual health, too.
Using Sunday for spiritual refreshment
God originally gave His people the Sabbath Day because it is good for them to remember Him and to have a day of physical and spiritual refreshment. Keeping Sunday as a day for spiritual rest allows for preparation for the week ahead; it gives space for relationships to thrive at home and for spiritual health to improve as we spend time with God.
Spiritual refreshment for kids through devotional time
Devotional time is a great way for kids to understand what God is doing in their lives and how He wants them to grow.
If parents teach kids to have a regular devotional time early in life, they’ll already be well on their way to raising godly children by instilling habits for spiritual nourishment, rather than the time wasted on rehabilitative efforts when things fall apart.
Improve devotional time with CEF resources
CEF has a wide variety of devotional books perfect for kids of all ages, guiding them into spiritual rest with God as they learn more about Him and themselves through their devotional time.
Visit cefpress.com for a full catalog of devotional books, including “The Wonder Devotional Books” for older children and “Every Day with God” devotionals for younger children.
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), which was founded 88 years ago, has been establishing the Good News Club® in countries around the world for decades. Clubs are thriving worldwide, in countries including Australia, Cambodia, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda and many more.
In 2024, through the combined ministries of CEF, more than 31 million children worldwide were impacted for Christ. More than 533,000 teachers were trained around the world to reach children.
For more CEF news, see the ministry’s latest edition of the online magazine Impact.
CEF is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been dedicated to seeing every child reached with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, discipled, and established in a local church since 1937. CEF is located in all 50 American states and in most countries around the world, with over 3,500 paid staff and tens of thousands of volunteers around the world.
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To interview a representative from Child Evangelism Fellowship, contact [email protected], Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, Dawn Foglein, ext. 100, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.