Brave Parenting

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 206: Everything Wrong with Social Media is in ‘Coverstar’ Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

A new app has emerged over the last few years, gaining popularity among preteens. No doubt because the app markets itself as “Gen Alpha’s social media.”

Coverstar has the feel of TikTok, but with stricter community guidelines for content, zero tolerance for violations, and no direct messages. While it is perhaps “safer” than TikTok, what does an app that encourages young girls to put themselves on public display and compete for likes and follows actually do for their developing self-worth? Or for their future integrity?

In this episode, Kelly digs into the influencer economy and culture, and how this, specifically, is the crux of social media’s harm. Tragically, this economy of harm is thriving on Coverstar.

Articles referenced:

Brave Parenting Guide to Yope
Brave Parenting Guide to Coverstar
Reddit: r/apps
Pew Research: High School Seniors and Marriage
The Dark Side of Social Media Influencers: A Research Agenda for Analysing Deceptive Practices and Regulatory Challenges
The influencer effect: Current findings and future directions for research on social media influencers and body image
The Impact of Following Instagram Influencers on Women’s Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorder Symptoms
New Research on Church Attendance: Decline of Women or the Rise of Men?

Scripture referenced:

Galatians 5
Galatians 6:14
Philippians 3:3
2 Corinthians 10:12

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

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

Ep. 205: The Importance of the Australian Social Media Ban Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

It’s Deactivation Week!! On December 10th in Australia (which is really December 9 in the US), the first-ever social media ban will take effect. The major platforms are required by law to deactivate the accounts of children and teens under 16. Kelly reviews the details of the new law, the pushback from Big Tech, advocacy groups, parents, and teens, and why all of this is so important.

While we watch and see how this works in Australia, here are some takeaways:

Do not wait for the government to save your kids from social media.
Social Media is optional for you, too, parents!
The burden is on Big Tech, but the opportunity is still on you.
Expect pushback, but persevere.
Fill the void with real life.

Brave Parenting Guides to Lemon8 and Yope (Where Australian kids are rumored to be heading.)

Articles referenced:

Is This the End of Kids on Social Media?
Social Media Ban: Everything You Need to Know Before Deactivation Day
Australia says world will follow social media ban
Australia is banning social media for teens – others could follow
How Australian Teens Plan to Get Around the Social Media Ban
Meta Starts Kicking Australian Children Off Instagram and Facebook
TikTok to Comply with Australia’s ‘Upsetting’ Social Media Ban
YouTube Says it Will Comply With Australian Social Media Ban
Australia wants to end the era of kids on social media with international ban hailed as “first domino” in global movement

Scripture referenced:

2 Corinthians 11:14
Romans 12
Psalm 82:3-4
Jeremiah 17:9
Ephesians 2:1-3
Romans 1:18-32
Ephesians 6:12
Deuteronomy 6:6-7

ORDER YOUR BRAVE PARENTING MERCH SOON FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

Check out our brand new Brave Parenting Merch

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

Ep. 204: Sleep, ,Screens & Spiritual Apathy Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

Today, we talk about the connection between sleep (or lack thereof), screens, and spiritual apathy. Kelly walks through five ways screens contribute to sleep deprivation and how children and teens who are sleep deprived are more likely to experience poor mental health, among other negative outcomes. More important for Christian parents is the spiritual apathy that arises in kids who are sleep-deprived. In this episode, you will learn how sleep is both biblical and necessary for children’s and teens’ spiritual health. Armed with this knowledge, you will be encouraged and equipped to make changes to your family structure to reprioritize sleep, remove screens from the bedroom, and reinforce the biblical importance of getting enough rest.

SHOP our Wristbands and Other Merch!

Articles referenced:

Teens & Sleep: The Hidden Cost of Sleep Deprivation
How to help your child get enough healthy brain-boosting sleep
Teens with insomnia who lack sleep may be at risk for high blood pressure
The Critical Connection between Teens’ Sleep and Mental Health
Contemporary Screen Time Modalities among Children 9–10 years old and Binge-Eating Disorder at One-Year Follow-Up: A Prospective Cohort Study
Sleep in High School Students
Maybe the teen mental health crisis is actually a sleep crisis

Scripture referenced:

Psalm 121:3-4
Genesis 2:2-3
Mathew 11:29
Psalm 62:1
Psalm 23:2-3
Psalm 116:7
Psalm 46:10
Psalm 3:5
Psalm 4:8
Psalm 127:2
1 Peter 1:13, 4:7, 5:8
2 Samuel 11:2-3
Luke 22:45-46, 50, 52

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

Check out our brand new Brave Parenting Merch

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

Ep. 203: Giving Tech As Gifts Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

Before you start Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping for the latest and greatest tech gadgets, toys, and tools, it is important to have a biblical approach to gift-giving. In this episode, you’ll learn:

The biblical nature of gift-giving and gift-receiving
The call for Christians to give sacrificially
What Scripture considers “good” gifts
The top tech gifts promoted as “what teens want” this year, along with the top tech you should reject buying
Why you shouldn’t give tech tools as a gift (for Christmas or Birthdays)
The importance of communicating a “no tech toys preference” with extended family

As a bonus, there is a deeper dive into AI toys that are saturating the toy market. One AI-powered bear has been shown to provide sexual fetish information for kids! There is one great takeaway:

Do not allow your children to come into contact with any AI-powered toy, robot, or chatbot.

Check out BRAVE PARENTING MERCH!! Our wristbands make for great stocking stuffers!

Articles referenced:

China’s New AI Toys Are Headed For American Shelves
AI-Powered Stuffed Animal Pulled From Market After Disturbing Interactions With Children
The ChatGPT-powered teddy bear is officially on ice
Do Not, Under Any Circumstance, Buy Your Kid an AI Toy for Christmas

Teens Need More Friction – Not the iPhone 17
BP Podcast #142: AI Robots for kids
Brave Parenting Guide to AI Robots for Kids
Media & Tech for Kids under 12 (for gift ideas)

Scripture referenced:

John 3:16
John 15:13
James 1:17
Luke 6:38
Matthew 7:9-11
Matthew 6:19-21

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

Check out our brand new Brave Parenting Merch

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

Ep. 202: The “Keys” to Snapchat Safety Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

Snapchat released a digital safety course helping teens navigate the bullying, illicit drug activity, nude and intimate images, and sextortion found on their platform. Some may consider this altruistic, but it reveals a deeper problem with Snapchat’s very design. In this episode, Kelly walks through five points of contention with Snapchat’s design and the so-called “safety” options offered. Snapchat’s recent design upgrades further reveal that this is not an app for basic communication with friends. It’s an app that will do anything to make a profit – even if that means addicting them or exposing them to harmful content.

The difference between digital safety courses and biblical discipleship is wisdom. This episode provides parents with the facts about Snapchat’s current operations – an apologetic for prohibiting its use, to be used in discipling children to navigate a world that demands they use social media to connect and communicate

Articles referenced:

The Keys to Snapchat Safety
Snapchat’s CEO Outlines Difficult Path Forward for the App
Snapchat Adds Infinite Retention and Group Streaks
Metricool 2025 Study Unveils 70% Surge in Short-Form Video
Snap and Perplexity Partner to Bring Conversational AI Search to Snapchat
Snapchat rolls out ‘Topic Chats’ for public conversations
Snapchat and Instagram are starting to chase the same growth strategy

Scripture referenced:

Proverbs 25:28
1 Peter 5:8
John 14:27
Hebrews 12:3
Isaiah 30:21
Galatians 6:6-8

Documentary referenced:

Can’t Look Away

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

Check out our brand new Brave Parenting Merch

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

Ep. 201: Ten Kids & a Mission with Guest Michelle Lazor Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Today, Kelly interviews Michelle Lazor of Mud Hen Mama. Michelle has ten biological children and a mission to provide books that support the biblical worldview for families. At Brave Parenting, we are so passionate about children reading – but not just any reading, it should be quality, enriching stories. That is what her website, Mud Hen Mama, provides: books vetted for Christian families. Not only is she providing a wonderful resource, but her story is inspiring, and you’ll love hearing from a fellow brave parent.

Go to Mud Hen Mama to do your booking shopping this year! Support a Christian, family-owned business and use the discount code: BRAVE PARENTING to save 10% off your order!

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

Check out our brand new Brave Parenting Merch

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

Ep. 200: Tailored to You – The Dangers of Hyper-Personalization Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

In a world where Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon tailor everything “just for you,” convenience quietly and subtly reshapes our kids’ worldview, identity, and habits. In this 200th episode, Kelly & Ryan unpack how hyper-personalization works, why it feels so good, and where it becomes dangerous. From echo chambers to the illusion of control (and even AI-generated media), we explore the risks and offer practical, biblical responses for families.

Five Tech Rules for Kids 12 & Under Article and Approved Technology for Children Under 12 Podcast

Articles Referenced:

How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did
Spotify “Wrapped” Campaign
Artwork Personalization at Netflix
The Psychology of Hyper-Personalization
The Problem with Hyper-Personalization in Online Learning
Alpha School: AI Powered Private School
Parents Fell in Love with Alpha School’s Promise. Then They Wanted Out.
Google Gemini Storybooks
Billboard Says at Least One AI-Generated “Artist” is Charting Every Week Now

Books Referenced:

Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

Check out our brand new Brave Parenting Merch

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

Ep. 199: Fighting Consumerism with Elizabeth Urbanowicz Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

How are parents to handle their kids’ insatiable desire for more stuff? Today, Elizabeth Urbanowicz from Foundation Worldview is here to talk about how we fight consumerism in our family. This is an urgent issue, for if it isn’t corrected when they are young, consumerism and materialism are magnified during the teen years. From iPhones and airPods to every trending item they see online, consumerism and coveting cripple young people. Kelly and Elizabeth talk about biblically faithful ways families can fight the sin of covetousness from taking over.

They also discuss Elizabeth’s newly published book, Helping Your Kids Know God’s Good Design: 40 Questions and Answers on Sexuality and Gender. This book is an excellent resource for anyone involved in the lives of children today.

Use promo code: BRAVE10 to receive $10 off a family license of any Foundation Worldview curriculum.

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

Check out our brand new Brave Parenting Merch

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

Ep. 198: Why Big Tech Refuses to be the ‘Moral Police of the World’? Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

This week, Kelly responds to OpenAI’s decision to allow ChatGPT to create “erotic” content and Sam Altman’s defense to pushback against this decision, saying, “We are not the elected moral police of the world.”

Kelly covers the Moral Argument for God and why God’s moral law is objective and universal. This decision is indicative of the future of AI. Sam Altman’s response is indicative of their moral relativistic worldview. All of which matters to parents, even if you aren’t using AI chatbots in your home. Knowing how Big Tech rebels against God’s moral law (and the collateral damage that causes), along with how deeply they want our children’s attention and affection, REQUIRES a fresh evaluation of our parenting and online access. Parental controls mean nothing to these companies. Our best defense is knowing God’s word.

Articles referenced:

A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.
Introducing Parental Controls
OpenAI promises parental controls for ChatGPT amid lawsuit over teen death
Altman on X: “We’re going to allow erotica”
Altman on X: “We are not the elected moral police of the world.”
Cleo Abram interviews Sam Altman: “At least we haven’t created a sexbot avatar in ChatGPT yet!”
NBC: Sam Altman says OpenAI isn’t ‘moral police of the world’ after erotica ChatGPT post blows up
Spicy ChatGPT Is One Way to Make More Money

Scripture referenced:

Genesis 1:1
Colossians 1:17
Hebrews 13:8
Romans 13:1-5
Romans 2:15
Romans 2:14
Romans 1:18-20
Romans 1:28-32

Book recommendation:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

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. 197: Keep Your Kids Off Sora Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

Sora is a new short-form video social platform solely for AI-generated videos. In this episode, Kelly explains the app, its features, its dangers, and why parents have to keep kids off of this app!!

That means you’ll have to restrict their access to the personal devices, the app stores, and the internet in general. It may seem like a high cost, but as Kelly discusses in the show, the cost of allowing the truth of reality to become distorted is much higher.

DOWNLOAD the Family Discussion Guide for Sora.

READ our Brave Parenting Guide to Sora

Articles referenced:

Sora 2 Is Here
Launching Sora Responsibly
The Sora Feed Philosophy
Introducing Parenting Controls
Fake Videos of Dead Celebrities are Going Viral. Many of their families are horrified.
Jake Paul invites users to fake him on Sora, so they immediately use it to make him gay and obsessed with make-up
“People need to get a life”; Jake Paul responds to influx of deepfake videos of his likeness

Scripture referenced

Genesis 1:1, 3
Genesis 1:27-28
Genesis 25:24-34
Romans 1:18-32

Book a Speaking Event!!

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

Get Kelly’s new Study Guide & Workbook, with video teachings for small groups.

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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