Brave Parenting

By Brave ParentingSociety & Culture Parenting Kids & Family

Brave Parenting episodes

June 10 Ep. 225: A Biblical Framework for AI & Children
AI tools can perform incredible feats of computation. They can also displace human relationships, outsource learning, distort reality, and pretend to have wisdom. Christian families have a responsibility not to conform to the patterns of this world (Rom 12:2) but to test everything, hold on to what is good, and reject what is evil (1 Thes. 5:21). In this episode, Kelly provides a four-pillar biblical framework for evaluating AI tools and whether they are appropriate or beneficial for children. The four pillars are (1) Imago Dei, (2) Attributes of God, (3) Truth, and (4) Formation. Each pillar offers a preventative or protective measure and a practical application question parents can use to disciple children in the age of AI.
Articles referenced:
Here’s why graduates are booing commencement graduation speakers this year
There is Already a Word for the Deep Moral Failures of AI
Scripture referenced:
Psalm 8:4-5
Isaiah 40:25-28
Proverbs 9:10
James 1:2-4
Romans 5:3-4
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Resources referenced:
Foundation Worldview Webinar: AI, ChatGPT, and Your Kids: A Biblical Framework for New Technology
Foundation Worldview Attributes of God Curriculum
Upcoming Events:
Great Homeschool Convention – Round Rock, Texas July 9-11
Kelly & Ryan will both be leading workshops and Brave Parenting will have an exhibitor booth
JUST RELEASED: The Managing Media Creating Character STUDENT Study Guide!
An 8-week biblical study examining how character is impacted by media and technology. The study can be done individually, in a small group, or even as homeschool curriculum!
Great for middle school, high school, and young college students to develop Christlike character, which can then guide their use of media and technology.
Get your copy of the STUDENT Study Guide today!
Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
Book a Speaking Event!!
Buy the UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated). Also available on Audible.
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!

37 min
June 08 The Enhanced Games & Becoming ‘Superhuman’
The Enhanced Games took place over Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. The founders boasted they were making history and redefining what the human body is capable of. What was the evidence for this? Performance-enhancing drugs and bio-hacking in the name of becoming ‘superhuman.’
In this briefing, Kelly explains why stories like this matter and are valuable opportunities to talk to kids about what it means to be human. Kids are bombarded with messages to ‘enhance themselves’ with everything from skin care rituals to looksmaxxing. It is critical for parents to start this conversation.
Articles referenced:
Enhanced Games claim ‘we changed the world’ but only one record broken and three clean athletes win
Welcome to sport’s ultimate taboo where athletes risk it all for millions in Las Vegas
Scripture referenced:
1 Corinthians 6:19
Genesis 2:18
Psalm 139
2 Corinthians 12
Genesis 3:4
Romans 1:25

JUST RELEASED: The Managing Media Creating Character STUDENT Study Guide!
An 8-week biblical study examining how character is impacted by media and technology. The study can be done individually, in a small group, or even as homeschool curriculum!
Great for middle school, high school, and young college students to develop Christlike character, which can then guide their use of media and technology.
Get your copy of the STUDENT Study Guide today!
Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
Book a Speaking Event!!
Buy the UPDATED book: Managing Media Creating Character (2024 Revised & Updated). Also available on Audible.
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!
9 min
June 04 Ep. 224: Is “Being Trusted” a Benefit of Smartphones for Kids?
When it comes to a kid having their own smartphone, trust is a much more complex issue than Peter Gray alludes to. Allowing a smartphone requires a parent to trust the child, their own parenting, Big Tech, the attention economy, and the whole of sinful mankind with access to the internet. In today’s episode – Part 10 of 10 – Kelly counters the benefit of “being trusted” as a benefit to smartphone ownership. In reality, trust can be given and earned in many ways that do not involve persuasive and personalized design features. Scripture gives so much wisdom on how and who we are to trust.
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
On Being a Trustful, Autonomy-Supportive Parent
How Much Work Are You Doing for Your Kids’ Happiness? (Dopamine Kids Book Review)
Books referenced:
Dopamine Kids: A Science-Based Plan to Rewire Your Child’s Brain
Extremely Online
Scripture referenced:
Romans 11:35
Proverbs 27:12
Proverbs 1:16
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Proverbs 3:5
Matthew 6:25-27
Psalm 20:6-7
Ephesians 6:4
Proverbs 22:15
Ephesians 6:1
John 17:14-18
Romans 12:2

JUST RELEASED: The Managing Media Creating Character STUDENT Study Guide!
An 8-week biblical study examining how character is impacted by media and technology. The study can be done individually, in a small group, or even as homeschool curriculum!
Great for middle school, high school, and young college students to develop Christlike character, which can then guide their use of media and technology.
Get your copy of the STUDENT Study Guide today!
Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
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!

34 min
May 27 Ep. 223: Is Developing Digital Skill a Benefit of Smartphones for Kids?
Recent Barna research revealed that teens spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on social media. In this time, are they learning critical digital skills essential for success in life? When kids play games on iPads or watch YouTube videos, are they learning essential skills? In today’s episode, Kelly continues the examination of Peter’s Gray list of benefits for kids’ smartphone ownership: Developing Digital Skills.
What exactly are digital skills? Are they learned by swiping, tapping, and watching? And most importantly, what is God’s purpose for childhood – is it to master skills or to grow in wisdom and faith?
From a pragmatic standpoint, this benefit seems legit. From a biblical standpoint, digital skills look a whole lot like digital devotion.
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
Scripture referenced:
Genesis 2:15
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Proverbs 22:6
Proverbs 2:1-8
Exodus 35:10, 26, 30-35
Acts 4
Romans 11:36
Colossians 3:23
Matthew 25:14-30
JUST RELEASED: The Managing Media Creating Character STUDENT Study Guide!
An 8-week biblical study examining how character is impacted by media and technology. The study can be done individually, in a small group, or even as homeschool curriculum!
Great for middle school, high school, and young college students to develop Christlike character, which can then guide their use of media and technology.
Get your copy of the STUDENT Study Guide today!
Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
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!

37 min
May 25 Discipleship Has No Summer Break
Summer is an amazing time of rest and refreshing. Because screen time is a central part of so many students’ lives, this detail often feels most important. But beyond screen time, we want to encourage parents to take a different approach and ask the question: “What kind of character will be formed in my child this summer?”
Discipleship is teaching and reinforcing Christ-like Character in every aspect of life – and that doesn’t get a summer vacation.
Scripture referenced:
Romans 12:2
James 1:15
ANNOUNCING: The Managing Media Creating Character STUDENT Study Guide!
An 8-week biblical study examining how character is impacted by media and technology. The study can be done individually, in a small group, or even as homeschool curriculum!
Great for middle school, high school, and young college students to develop Christlike character, which can then guide their use of media and technology.
Get your copy of the Student Study Guide today!
Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
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!
9 min
May 21 Ep. 222: Is Connecting with Peers a Benefit of Smartphones for Kids?
We all know that friendship and connection to peers are a critical part of what it means to be human, especially during childhood. The question parents must contend with is what kind of peer connection do children need, and how does that connection shape a child’s character, faith, and worldview? Because we all know the smartphone is the most convenient tool for this connection, but at what cost and with what risk?
In Part 9 of our series evaluating the proposed benefits of smartphones for kids, as described by Dr. Peter Gray on his Substack, “Play Makes Us Human,” Kelly challenges the claim that adults have ruined childhood in the physical world and that children have wisely recreated it in the virtual world.
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
The Culture of Childhood: We’ve Almost Destroyed It
Scripture referenced:
Genesis 2:18
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Proverbs 27:17
Romans 1:19-20
Proverbs 22:15
Proverbs 15:5
Proverbs 30:17
Proverbs 22:6
Proverbs 10:1
Exodus 10:12
Proverbs 13:20
1 Corinthians 15:33
Galatians 5:19-21
Ephesians 4:29
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Ephesians 6:4
Ephesians 2:8-9
Romans 12:1-2
Products referenced:
Tin-Can “home” phones
Pinwheel “home” phones

Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
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!
38 min
May 13 Ep. 221: Is Amusement a Benefit of Smartphones for Kids?
Enjoyment and entertainment are not inherently sinful, but because smartphones are engineered to capture time and attention, entertainment can grow to master a person’s life. And this is true for any age! In today’s episode, we are evaluating the benefit of smartphones for “amusement” as described by Dr. Peter Gray. Is this a real benefit for kids? Is it a biblically faithful way to raise kids? What is lost when airpods are always in? When distraction is always available? When ‘not thinking’ becomes the goal?
Resources referenced:
Episode #162 “The Problem with Music”
Episode #200 “The Dangers of Hyperpersonalization”
BP Approved Media & Tech for Kids Under 12
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
Scripture referenced:
1 Corinthians 6:12
Psalm 46:10
Ephesians 5:15–17
1 Thessalonians 4:3
Proverbs 4:23
1 Corinthians 15:33
Philippians 4:8

Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
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!
30 min
May 06 Ep. 220: Is Creative Self-Expression a Benefit of Smartphones for Kids
How did kids creatively express themselves before digital screens and the internet? Do smartphone kids “build” and “express” themselves in ways that are beneficial – or biblical? In this episode, Kelly continues her series countering the beneficial claims Dr. Peter Gray cites in his Substack, Play Makes Us Human. This week, the claim is that the smartphone is a beneficial tool for creative self-expression. Kelly argues that biblical creativity is meant for God’s glory and the edification of others, rather than the self-promotion and audience-driven validation that occurs when sharing one’s creativity online.
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
Is Online Self-Expression a Necessary Part of Childhood? (Ep #212)
Scripture referenced:
Genesis 1:27
Exodus 31
Psalm 127:1
Luke 6
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Romans 14:19
Ephesians 4:29
1 Corinthians 8:1
Luke 6:45
Proverbs 4:23
Jeremiah 17:9
Proverbs 29:11
James 1:19
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Galatians 2:20
Colossians 3:1–3
Proverbs 31:30
1 Peter 3:3–4
1 John 2:16
Proverbs 26:18–19
James 3:9–10
Ephesians 5:4
Galatians 1:10
Proverbs 29:25
Philippians 4:8
1 Thessalonians 2:8
John 12:43
Philippians 2:3
Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
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!
43 min
April 26 Relieved to be Caught – The Story of a Teen Hacker
What does it say about the online world when a 20-year-old cybercriminal feels relieved to be caught? This Brave Briefing looks at Matthew Lane’s repentance, the consequences he is now willing to bear, and the sobering reality that tech savvy and tech intelligence are not the same as tech wisdom or spiritual maturity. There is an important lesson and hope for parents in this story.
Articles referenced:
‘Addicted to Hacking’: Young hacker behind historic breach speaks out for 1st time, before reporting to prison
Scripture referenced:
Hebrews 12:11
Proverbs 22:6
Matthew 5:29
James 5:20
8 min
April 22 Ep. 219: Is Education a “Benefit” of Smartphones for Kids?
Is the smartphone the greatest educational tool ever created? In today’s episode, Kelly counters Dr. Peter Gray’s claim, arguing that smartphones provide information and convenience, which are not the same as education. Even if you don’t define education as structured, systematic instruction by adults, the smartphone still isn’t a tool that positively shapes a child’s character, work ethic, and spiritual wisdom.
Books referenced:
The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids’ Learning and How to Help Them Thrive Again
Product referenced:
Leap Frog Magical Adventures Globe
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
Self-Directed Education: What Is It and How Does It Work?
What does the Bible say about Education?
Cambridge Dictionary: Education
Scripture referenced:
Proverbs 1:7
Proverbs 18:15
1 Corinthians 8:1
Acts 22:3
Acts: 17:28
Titus 1:12
1 Timothy 1:16
2 Timothy 3:7
Psalm 1:2
James 1:5
Jeremiah 17:9
Need a kids-safe phone? Pinwheel is our favorite!
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!
36 min

About Brave Parenting

From the publisher's feed

We are a network of brave parents who empower & equip others to intentionally develop & train children to have strong character & integrity. We believe brave parenting is doing the right…