Raising Gen Alpha - by Dave Boden (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

In a rapidly changing world, Raising Gen Alpha helps parents, pastors, and educators understand, love, and lead today's children.

Gen Alpha is growing up in a world very different from the one their parents did. Born between 2010-2024, this generation faces intense pressure from school, social media, mental health struggles, and the rapid rise of technology. Despite their deep desire to make a difference, parents, educators, and faith leaders often feel overwhelmed by the growing generational divide. How do we bridge the gap to make a connection and ensure these children and teens feel seen, heard, valued, cared for, and safe?

Using the acronym ALPHA (Anxious-minded, Leading influencers, Pandemic-impacted, Hyperconnected, and AI-shaped) to explain the challenges and experiences that have shaped them, author Dave Boden equips readers to disciple Gen Alpha with clarity, compassion, and confidence. By understanding the world today's children are growing up in, we're better prepared to equip them with the faith and insight they need to thrive.

Review Quotes

"Generation Alpha is growing up in a world that's shifting faster than ever--digitally, culturally, and spiritually. In Raising Gen Alpha, Dave Boden offers a thoughtful, research-informed, and deeply biblical guide to understanding and engaging this rising generation. This book doesn't just describe the challenges--it casts a hopeful vision for how parents, pastors, and educators can disciple Gen Alpha with wisdom, grace, and intentionality. As we look to the future of the church, nothing is more urgent than developing the next generation of Spirit-led leaders. Raising Gen Alpha is a timely and practical resource for anyone called to invest in the future of God's kingdom."
Rob Hoskins, President, OneHope

"Today's kids are shaped by the omnipresence of social media, the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic, and the rise of AI. Raising children who are grounded in the unchanging truths of God's Word can seem like a daunting challenge in this brave new world. But with Raising Gen Alpha, Dave Boden offers parents a helpful blueprint for navigating both the challenges and opportunities."
Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family

"Raising Gen Alpha is the book every parent, educator, and church leader needs right now. Dave Boden doesn't just describe the challenges facing today's kids--he equips us with practical tools and a hopeful vision. From addressing anxiety and identity struggles to the overwhelming influence of technology and AI, this book offers clarity without fear and wisdom rooted in faith. It's honest, insightful, and deeply encouraging. If you want to understand the world shaping our children and learn how to guide them with grace and confidence, this is essential reading."
Dave Newton, National Director, Scripture Union, England and Wales

"The Anxious Generation meets pastoral wisdom and insight in this helpful book! As a Christ-following mother of three Gen Alphas, I am so thankful for the practical, grounding companion Dave offers. I need this wisdom for the day-to-day, giving me insights and hope that my little Gen Alphas will help shape this world more than they are shaped by it."
Joy Eggerichs Reed, Author of Beega Gets a Do-Over

"This book offers clear, insightful, research-based overviews into five aspects of Gen Alpha's experience of life. Dave highlights the many joyful positives alongside the challenges young people are facing today in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. He offers suggestions for how parents and the church can respond to this generation's strengths and needs, and draws us back constantly to Jesus and how his teaching is directly relevant to these young people of the twenty-first century. It is a thoughtful, hopeful, joyful read."
Lucy Moore, Head of the Growing Faith Foundation, The Church of England

"Raising Gen Alpha is essential reading for anyone who cares about the rising generation--and that really should be all of us. This book is clearly a labor of love, written by an education specialist, a strategic thinker, a passionate youth advocate, and most of all, a dad. Rooted in fresh, practical research and packed with insight, Dave doesn't just inform us--he provokes us to think deeply and act intentionally. There is a hopeful way forward if we all play our part."
Matt Summerfield, Board of Trustees Chair, Youthscape; senior pastor, Zeo Church

"Dave Boden's Raising Gen Alpha is a book that needed to be written. It shines a light on the generation, showcasing its many strengths and explaining its often confusing phrases, motivations, habits, and ideas. Dave's extensive work helps us understand Gen Alpha and gives us Biblically-sound tools for guiding them in a way that supports who they are and the generation they were born into. Raising Gen Alpha assures us that we can guide this generation with confidence, faith, and hope."
Amy Hughes, Author of Words Like Honey

"Dave Boden's Raising Gen Alpha helps us decipher the digital and anxiety-prone world of today's youth and provides a pastoral roadmap for 'screenagers' who value authenticity and participation in the concerns of the world around them. It is an essential guide for helping Gen Alpha find their identity in the Alpha and Omega rather than a digital algorithm."
Leigh McGough, Senior VP, External Engagement & Development, Wycliffe, Canada

"Dave Boden does a great job helping us all understand how Gen Alpha is different from previous generations. Yesterday's tools for engaging youth won't translate well with them, and it's vital to understand why. This book is full of insights that will inspire and inform us for tweaking our approach to supporting and discipling today's tweenagers and teenagers in the best ways."
Becky Lawrence, Director and Founder, Youthwork+

"Dave has gifted those of us a deeply practical handbook for how to come alongside today's youth in order to compassionately and effectively equip them for the future. He moves beyond the headlines, blending in his own personal experience in a way that leaves me feeling hopeful. Gen Alpha is not a people group to fear but a generation of great promise!"
Darin Stevens, Director, Start to Stir UK; author of the Stir course

About the Author

Dave Boden is a creative pioneer, author, and educator who leads Grace Foundation--a charity transforming young lives through Christian ethos education. A former pastor, he co-created Kleer Series, a video resource sparking faith conversation with thousands of young people. He's also the author of Parallel Faith, Like or Follow, and What You Are Made For. Dave, his wife Leah, and their four children live in the West Midlands, England.