Brave Parenting

By Brave ParentingSociety & Culture Parenting Kids & Family

Brave Parenting episodes

April 15 Ep. 218: Is Documentation a “Benefit” of Smartphones for Kids?
A smartphone lets you document life with an ever-present camera and note-taking capabilities. Is this something beneficial for kids? Will it build character? Will it help them be present and more aware of their reality? On the other hand, what does growing up not having access to these smartphone features lead to? Will they be worse off? Have less documented memories?
In today’s episode, Kelly evaluates this claimed benefit of “documentation” from both Dr. Peter Gray’s perspective and historical and biblical perspectives.
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
Mobile Photography Stats for 2026
What Selfies are Doing to Self-Esteem
Junk Journaling
Camp Snap Camera
Camp Snap Video Camera
Scripture referenced:
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Matthew 6:1
Galatians 1:10
1 Peter 3:3-4
1 Corinthians 10:31
John 13:34
Galatians 5:13
Romans 12:10
Colossians 3:16
1 Corinthians 13:6
Proverbs 6:16-19
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!
44 min
April 08 Ep. 217: Is Navigation a “Benefit” of Smartphones for Kids?
The smartphone is an undeniable benefit to adult drivers navigating in their vehicles. But is it equally beneficial for kids who cannot drive yet? Would using smartphone navigation displace formative and fundamental lessons a child is meant to learn while growing up? Even more, are God’s “directions” and “way” missed when reliance rests on technology?
In today’s episode, Kelly evaluates this claimed benefit of “navigation” from both Dr. Peter Gray’s perspective and historical and biblical perspectives
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
Scripture referenced:
Hebrews 5:14
Proverbs 22:3
Psalms 119:105
Psalms 119:133
Psalms 32:8
Psalms 1:1
Jeremiah 6:16
Isaiah 30:21
Deuteronomy 5:32-33
Proverbs 4:27
Luke 15:4-7
Isaiah 53:6
Psalms 119:176
Ezekiel 34:11-16
Matthew 7:1-14
Proverbs 14:12
Galatians 5:16
Ephesians 4:1
Colossians 2:6
Proverbs 16:9
Proverbs 20:24
Psalms 37:23-24
1 Corinthians 10:23
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!
28 min
April 01 Ep. 216: Is Outdoor Safety a “Benefit” of Smartphones for Kids?
Does having a smartphone during childhood make a child “safer” when they are outdoors? Is having access to a flashlight, GPS, and a phone to call 911 an essential addition to a child’s outdoor play? What are the downsides or detriments to having a smartphone while playing outdoors? Will children play outdoors as much if they have a smartphone?
In today’s episode, Kelly evaluates this claimed benefit from both Dr. Peter Gray’s perspective and historical and biblical perspectives.
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
Why Did Teen Suicides (Especially for Boys) Decline Sharply from 1990 to 2005?
The Age Four Transition into Responsible Childhood
The Many Benefits of Video Games
Risky Play: Why Children Seek it and Need it
Scripture referenced:
Psalm 119:89
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Matthew 5:45
Proverbs 22:3
1 Corinthians 6:12
Romans 5:3-4
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!
24 min
March 29 “Moral Panic” Over Social Media Just Became Moral Accountability
The verdict of the landmark social media addiction/harms trial came back GUILTY. For more than a decade, those who spoke out against social media and its harm to children were accused of “moral panic.” While there was always an urgency to warn others, it was never fear or panic. But the persuasive and personalized design features embedded in social media platforms remain a moral problem in our society. Now, finally, we are starting to see some moral accountability.
Articles referenced:
What did jury decide in social media case against Meta and Google?
Jury Finds Instagram and YouTube Liable in a Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial
What is tech addiction? A court ruling makes it Big Tech’s next big problem
Scripture referenced:
Ezekiel 14:3
Ecclesiastes 1:9
1 John 2:15-17
Colossians 3:5
Proverbs 4:23
Romans 12:2
John 8:44
John 10:10
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!
7 min
March 26 Ep. 215: Are the “Benefits” for Kids Having Smartphones Really Beneficial?
Many tech advocates and secular experts believe and promote the idea that children should have their own smartphones. They tout the benefits of self-expression (Ep. 212), education, and outdoor safety. Are these benefits really beneficial? Or, are they just convenient? Because Brave Parenting recommends delaying smartphones until age 16, there’s a full decade gap between their recommendations and ours.
This episode is the INTRODUCTION to a series of 10 podcasts evaluating whether the claimed benefits are beneficial from a biblical and discipleship standpoint. While there are many voices promoting that kids have their own smartphones, Kelly will evaluate the list published by Dr. Peter Gray in his Play Makes Us Human Substack titled “Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely.” In this article, he lists “9 Benefits for Kids of Smartphone Ownership.”
Today, we’ll cover how the secular world aims to desensitize kids to online content, the background and beliefs of Dr. Peter Gray, and his views on the potential risks or harms of smartphone ownership. Kelly evaluates each potential harm so that we can all begin to think biblically (rather than “scientifically”) about what smartphones do to children. Ultimately, it is about understanding that what “experts” and “scientists” conclude will always be skewed because they do not see humans as Image-bearers who are with sinful hearts.
Articles referenced:
Helping Kids (and Ourselves) Use Smartphones Safely
Children Should be Outside for 4-6 Hours Every Day
Scripture referenced:
Psalm 19:1-3
Galatians 5:16-17
James 1:14-15, 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.
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!
51 min
March 18 YouTube Says They Don’t Want Addiction to Their Platform
A landmark social media addiction trial is happening in California. Meta (Instagram) and Google (YouTube) versus a child who got captured by the content-driven life, which drove her to mental illness and suicidal thoughts. When YouTube VP Chrisos Goodrow took the stand, he noted that they don’t want people addicted to YouTube any more than they’re addicted to reading….”
Is YouTube neutral? Sure, it can be used as a utility for learning, but in the hands of kids who want to be seen, heard, validated, and viral – is this platform actually in the same category as books?
Articles referenced:
YouTube Exec Says Goal Was Viewer Value Not Addiction
Scripture referenced:
1 Corinthians 6:12
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.
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!
7 min
March 11 Ep. 214: The Gamblification of Teens
There is a short walk between video games and gambling. The risk-reward and microtransaction economy mirrors casinos. Now, with the rise of sports betting apps and prediction market platforms like Kalshi, teens are falling into “get rich quick” gambling schemes. They are being fed a lie that the modern economy and market no longer reward prudence and delayed gratification. Of course, this issue runs much deeper than apps and games – it’s a worldview and anthropological issue about what it means to be human. In this episode, Kelly explains the growing and concerning trend of gablification and offers wisdom and next steps for parents.
Articles referenced:
Brave Parenting Guide to Sports Betting Apps
Gen Z is Playing the Economy Like a Casino
Financial nihilism: Gen Z gambling meme stock options (Recently Renamed: Why My Generation is Turning to Financial Nihilism)
Common Sense Media: Understanding Gambling Among Adolescent Boys
Hooked and Hustled: The Predatory Allure of Gamblified Finance
Articles that are worthy of reading that were released after this episode was recorded:
Women Wanted: Kalshi Pushes to Expand Far Beyond Sport Bets
Wanna Bet? How Polymarket and Kalshi are Gamifying Truth
Scripture referenced:
Genesis 2:3
Genesis 3
Proverbs 8:12
Proverbs 27:12
Proverbs 13:16
Proverbs 21:25
2 Thessalonians 3:10
Colossians 3:23
Ecclesiastes 5:10, 14, 18
Ecclesiastes 8:7
Proverbs 1:7
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!
46 min
March 05 Ep. 213: Unseen Evil in Video Game Avatars
Flowing from the idea that children need to express themselves online to form an identity, video game avatars serve as an introductory and primary portal for this. The cosmetic economy of avatar customization generates billions in revenue for game makers, while users pay and play their way into discovering their identity.
The ability to customize your appearance in the game isn’t just a fun feature. As we reveal in this episode, avatar customization can shape children’s real-world identities. But identities are not created or curated – they are given by God. This is one more way video games disciple children away from the gospel and into a self-above-all-else, unbiblical worldview.
Listen in as we inform and equip parents to know about and act against this unseen evil.
Article references:
Avatars in Gaming: How Roblox and Fortnite are redefining digital identity
The Joy and Liberation of Customizing Your Avatar
The Art of Avatar Creation
Understanding Children’s Avatar Making in Social Online Games
Young People and Gender Identity: Subverting the ‘body’ in massively multi-player online role-playing games
The Role of the Avatar in Gaming for Trans and Gender Diverse Young People
The Impact of Avatars on Self-Perception and Identity in Gaming
“I am the character, the character is me”: A thematic analysis of the user-avatar relationship in videogames
Gaming Disorder: A systematic review exploring the user-avatar relationship in videogames
Scripture References:
Genesis 1:27
2 Corinthians 5:17
Colossians 3:3
Romans 1:21
1 Corinthians 6:20
Jeremiah 17:9
Proverbs 4:23
Matthew 5:28
Mark 7:21-23
Galatians 6:8
John 17:17
John 8:32
Luke 12:15
Hebrews 13:5
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Genesis 2:15
Mark 9:42
Genesis 1:28
Psalm 139
Proverbs 3:5
Psalm 5:5
Psalm 11:5
Galatians 2:20
Romans 12:2
Acts 17:26
Ephesians 2:10
Esther 4:14
John 16:33

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!
52 min
February 25 Ep. 212: Is Online ‘Self-Expression’ a Necessary Part of Childhood?
The freedom of self-expression has become a catch-all justification for everything done online. Why should children be allowed to have social media at a young age? Because they need to express themselves! Mark Zuckerberg even used this justification of ‘self-expression’ under oath in the landmark social media addiction trial. In this episode, Kelly exposes how ‘self-expression’ has been hijacked to exploit children and steal childhood. What was once “play” is now “performance,” and what used to be “creativity” is now “content.”
This is a foundational episode that helps parents understand the larger cultural narrative at play. Also, upcoming episodes build on this idea that ‘self-expression’ is a necessary part of childhood.
Articles referenced:
Different Creative Playgrounds: Use Social Media for Creative Development
Kids Mental Health Foundation: Kids and Social Media
What kids are actually doing on social media and why that matters
How Online Communities Can Help Children
The New Era of Self-Expression: How the next generation are tackling social media, creativity, and authenticity
Social Media and Mental Health in Children and Teens
Unlock the Power of Self-Expression
Scripture referenced:
Genesis 1:27
Ephesians 2:10
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Proverbs 22:6
Matthew 6:1
Acts 2
Proverbs 22:15
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!
50 min
February 18 When Everything Becomes Content
Meta Ray-Ban Smart glasses have exploded in popularity. They allow people to film strangers without consent or even their awareness, which means that ordinary public interactions can now be turned into social media content.
How are Christian parents to think about this latest tech gadget? And strangers becoming content?
Articles referenced:
Pranksters and pickup artists are using Meta Ray-Ban glasses to harass strangers for content
So-called ‘manfluencers’ are filming themselves trying to pick up women. Smart glasses are their perfect tool
Scripture referenced:
Genesis 1:26-27
Genesis 9:6
James 3:9
Matthew 22:37-40
Philippians 2:3-4
Romans 2:10
Matthew 6:1-6
John 12:43
Galatians 1:10
1 Peter 1:14-16
Romans 12:1-2

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!
8 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…