Brave Parenting

Latest Episodes:

Brave Briefing: Parenting Hacks for Reading Skills Feb 09, 2025

Show notes

Everyone wants an easy and convenient parenting hack to teach reading, but what is that hack? What gives parents and kids a win in reading?

Educational apps? Reading to them? Is it really even a question we have to ask?

Articles referenced:

American Children’s Reading Skills Reach New Lows
These Toys Actually Get My Kindergartner Excited About Learning to Read
Testing Theories of Why: 4 Keys to Interpreting US Student Achievement Trends

Scripture referenced:

John 1:1

Get the newly published Managing Media Creating Character Study Guide & Workbook!

WATCH the Brave Briefing on YouTube

GET the Revised & Updated book Managing Media Creating Character

APPLY to be a Brave Parenting Ambassador

Ep. 178: Parents & Location Tracking Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

Location tracking is now part of the written code for effective modern parenting. In this episode, Kelly examines the widespread technological convenience of parents tracking their kid’s location. Parents argue it’s about keeping kids safe – but does it actually? Kelly unpacks the common reasons why parents insist on location tracking and how Scripture informs and instructs us differently. Does a child’s spiritual location matter more than their physical location?

Articles Referenced:

Safety and Surveillance Software Practices as a Parent in the Digital World
Some Parents Struggle to Stop Tracking Their Kid’ Every Move – Even in College
How Often Are Parents Spying on Their Kids Online?
Life360 Blog: Tips for Family Tracking Without Becoming a Helicopter Parent

Scripture Referenced:

Luke 2:41-59
Psalm 127:1
2 Corinthians 5:7

Book a Speaking Event!!

Buy the NEWLY UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated)

Teach your kids how to have a biblical worldview with Foundation Worldview!
Use PROMO CODE: BRAVE to save $10 on any curriculum purchase.

Check out the Pinwheel phone – it’s our favorite not-as-smart kid-safe smartphone on the market.

Sign up for the Brave Bullet Points newsletter! This helps us communicate what’s new without social media – a win for everyone!

Brave Briefing: TikTok Influencers admit to their own lies Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

On the brink of the TikTok ban, TikTok Influencers admit to their own lies. Will their professed dishonesty in attracting views change their influence on people?

This should awaken parents to the lies that kids are building their lives on when they believe the influencer narrative.

Scripture referenced:

Matthew 7: 24-27
John 14:6

Get the newly published Managing Media Creating Character Study Guide & Workbook!

WATCH the Brave Briefing on YouTube

GET the Revised & Updated book Managing Media Creating Character

APPLY to be a Brave Parenting Ambassador

Brave Briefing: Age Verification vs. Explicit Content Jan 20, 2025

Show notes

Today, Kelly discusses the recent Supreme Court hearing of oral arguments in the Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton case. It’s a big deal for parents because, if upheld, it will set a precedent for the protection of children from accessing online pornography under the age of 18.

Nevertheless, while the law gets settled what should parents be doing in the meantime?

Referenced articles:

Brave Parenting Guide to VPNs
The Supreme Court Considers Most Important Online Child Protection Case in 20 Years

Referenced Scripture:

Ephesians 2:10

WATCH the Brave Briefing on YouTube

GET the Revised & Updated book Managing Media Creating Character

APPLY to be a Brave Parenting Ambassador

Brave Briefing – Meta announces no more fact-checking & TiKTok faces U.S. ban Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

The Brave Briefing is a weekly technology and cultural update for Christian parents.

This week, we discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that fact-checkers and complex algorithms will no longer censor Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram to filter content. What does this mean for parents and teens? Also, with TikTok facing a potential ban in the U.S., we look at new evidence of the harms of TikTok to children and offer ways to intentionally disconnect from the app now rather than wait to see if it gets banned.

WATCH the Brave Briefing on YouTube

GET the Revised & Updated book Managing Media Creating Character

APPLY to be a Brave Parenting Ambassador

Ep. 177: Is This Not a Lie? Evaluating the Top Apps of 2024 Jan 05, 2025

Show notes

This episode evaluates the Top 20 Free Apps on Apple’s App Store in 2024. We consider the contrast between apps that serve as a tool and apps that aim to manipulate our behaviors and essentially addict us. We look at the idol maker in Isaiah 44 in order to ask ourselves, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

Articles referenced:

Apple’s Top Free Apps in 2024

Scripture referenced:

Isaiah 44:12-23
Proverbs 14:12

Book a Speaking Event!!

Buy the NEWLY UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated)

Teach your kids how to have a biblical worldview with Foundation Worldview!
Use PROMO CODE: BRAVE to save $10 on any curriculum purchase.

Check out the Pinwheel phone – it’s our favorite not-as-smart kid-safe smartphone on the market.

Sign up for the Brave Bullet Points newsletter! This helps us communicate what’s new without social media – a win for everyone!

Ep. 176: Top Ten Free Gaming Apps (and what kids can do instead!) Dec 30, 2024

Show notes

Every year, Apple releases its list of the top free apps. Today, we are discussing the ten top gaming apps in the U.S. in 2024. What kind of games are these and should your kids be playing them? Kelly provides alternative, real-life games that can (and should) be played instead.

Articles referenced:

Apple reveals 2024’s most downloaded apps and games

Book a Speaking Event!!

Buy the NEWLY UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated)

Teach your kids how to have a biblical worldview with Foundation Worldview!
Use PROMO CODE: BRAVE to save $10 on any curriculum purchase.

Check out the Pinwheel phone – it’s our favorite not-as-smart kid-safe smartphone on the market.

Sign up for the Brave Bullet Points newsletter! This helps us communicate what’s new without social media – a win for everyone!

Ep. 175: 2024 Media & Tech Trends Dec 18, 2024

Show notes

Kelly & Chelsea recap the year 2024 for Brave Parenting and for the Media and Technology trends that shaped the year. Everything from AI to iPad Kids and how they will impact 2025.

Book a Speaking Event!!

Buy the NEWLY UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated)

Teach your kids how to have a biblical worldview with Foundation Worldview!
Use PROMO CODE: BRAVE to save $10 on any curriculum purchase.

Check out the Pinwheel phone – it’s our favorite not-as-smart kid-safe smartphone on the market.

Sign up for the Brave Bullet Points newsletter! This helps us communicate what’s new without social media – a win for everyone!

Ep. 174: Adding Friction to Our Phones Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Smartphones and all their apps are not neutral. To build healthy smartphone habits (something every parent – but really every human – must strive for), we must add a little friction to our phones. Friction helps make one-tap purchasing a little harder and mindlessly scrolling time-limited. In this episode, Kelly presents 14 ways to add friction to our phones so we can be more present, less distracted, and have time to pursue God’s purposes.

Need a written version of these ways to add friction? Check out the blog post.

Books referenced:

Managing Media Creating Character, Chapter 5: Self-Control
How to Break Up with Your Phone

Articles referenced:

How Do I Resist “Time Thieves”? Through Friction
Manipulate Friction to Control Your Phone Rather than Letting It Control You
Teens Say Social Media is Stressing Them Out. Here’s How to Help Them.

Resources referenced:

Aro Box: The Screen Time Solution for Families
Freedom
AppBlock

Scripture referenced:

Genesis 11: The Tower of Bable
Numbers 22:21-35: Balam’s donkey
2 Corinthians 12:7: Paul’s thorn in the flesh

Book a Speaking Event!!

Buy the NEWLY UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated)

Teach your kids how to have a biblical worldview with Foundation Worldview!
Use PROMO CODE: BRAVE to save $10 on any curriculum purchase.

Check out the Pinwheel phone – it’s our favorite not-as-smart kid-safe smartphone on the market.

Sign up for the Brave Bullet Points newsletter! This helps us communicate what’s new without social media – a win for everyone!

Ep. 173: Uber Teen Accounts (& Teenage Independence) Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Would you allow your 13-year-old to order Uber rides to take them to their friend’s house when you can’t drive them? Uber now offers Teen Accounts to help teens get where they need to be (and keep them fed with seamlessly connected Uber Eats). This can feel like an allowance that fosters independence in a world encouraging parents to stop sheltering and hovering over teens. But is this really what teenage independence looks like? What are the bigger concerns that parents need to be aware of?

Articles referenced:

A Brief History of Teenagers
Economically Worthless and Emotionally Priceless?
Food Delivery Apps: Usage & Demographics
Restaurant Industry Sales
50+ Food & Alcohol Delivery Stats and Trends for 2024
What is Uber All About? Fun Facts From Uber’s History
Uber Family Profiles
Uber’s Teen Accounts Now Have Spending Limits, Monthly Budgets
What to Know About Teen Accounts on Uber
Uber Tweaks Its Teen Accounts to Allow Parents to Book Rides

Scripture referenced:

Proverbs 22:6
Philippians 4:19
Matthew 6:25-33
2 Thessalonians 3:10
Genesis 1:27
Romans 12:16
1 Peter 1:6-7
1 Thessalonians 4
Ephesians 6:4

Book a Speaking Event!!

Buy the NEWLY UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated)

Teach your kids how to have a biblical worldview with Foundation Worldview!
Use PROMO CODE: BRAVE to save $10 on any curriculum purchase.

Check out the Pinwheel phone – it’s our favorite not-as-smart kid-safe smartphone on the market.

Sign up for the Brave Bullet Points newsletter! This helps us communicate what’s new without social media – a win for everyone!

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