A mother’s heartbreak became a calling she could no longer ignore.

I started Sacred Stewardship because I watched my own children’s childhoods being stolen, and saw the same thing happening to their friends and their generation. I watched screens take time, attention, innocence, and space that should have belonged to friendship, family, discovery, and growing up.

Over the past six years, I have met bereaved parents who found their children dead in their bedrooms. I have met families watching children they love slip away into anxiety, depression, isolation, school refusal, self-harm, and despair. Their stories, alongside thousands of others, have changed me.

Our culture has normalized things that are harming children and tearing families apart. Common does not mean healthy. Popular does not mean safe. And profitable does not mean good.

This is my plea to parents of children of every age, expecting parents, grandparents, churches, and young people themselves: look honestly at what is happening. Our children’s lives depend on our willingness to see it and respond.

The evidence demands our attention

• The U.S. suicide rate among children ages 10–14 increased approximately 222% between 2007 and 2018. Across the broader age group of 10–24, the suicide rate increased 62% between 2007 and 2021. This remains an urgent crisis.
• In 2023, approximately 40% of U.S. high school students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness. One in five seriously considered attempting suicide, and nearly one in ten reported an attempt during the previous year.
• The Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory reported that 46% of adolescents ages 13–17 said social media made them feel worse about their bodies. It also cited research associating more than three hours of daily social media use with twice the risk of poor mental health outcomes, including symptoms of depression and anxiety.

And consider what children are encountering through pornography:

• 1 billion young people exposed to pornography globally, according to Culture Reframed’s estimate.
• 1 in 3 children report seeing hardcore pornography by age 12, according to Culture Reframed.
• 88% of pornography scenes analyzed contained physical aggression in a 2010 study of 304 scenes cited by Culture Reframed.

Children are encountering explicit sexual content while their understanding of love, bodies, boundaries, and relationships is still being formed. We cannot accept this as a normal part of growing up.

These numbers describe a crisis with multiple causes. They also make clear that we cannot dismiss the risks in our children’s digital lives.

We were promised connection. In too many homes, we experienced the opposite: isolation, constant comparison, online cruelty, secrecy, and children surrounded by digital contact while feeling profoundly alone.

Maybe you are like me. You handed over the phones in middle school, believing you were helping your children stay connected. Then you witnessed the harm.

Maybe your children are wearing you down with the same argument: “Everyone else has one.”

Maybe you are expecting your first child and wondering how to raise a family in this world.

We cannot let “everyone else is doing it” govern our homes. Romans 12:2 calls us to resist conformity to this world and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That must shape our decisions about what enters our homes, what forms our children, and what we model ourselves.

God is our heavenly Father. He provides, protects, teaches, corrects, and loves. As parents, we are called to reflect that care for the children entrusted to us. As Christians, our responsibility extends to all children.

Jesus welcomed children and spoke with extraordinary seriousness about causing little ones to stumble. His words should unsettle our complacency. When we see children being exploited, humiliated, deceived, or drawn toward destruction, we must respond with protection, truth, and love.

The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We must recognize the lies that work through isolation, addiction, and indoctrination, the messages that tell children their bodies are inadequate, their worth depends on attention, and belonging requires surrendering their boundaries.

You cannot out-parent an attention economy designed to keep your child engaged. Algorithms have taken over the work of formation. It’s time for parents to reclaim their God-given authority.

That means changing our own habits, setting boundaries, delaying access, removing harmful platforms, and staying close enough to hear what our children are afraid to tell us. It means seeking qualified help when they are suffering and surrounding them with faithful, present adults.

And it means going deeper.

Sacred Stewardship exists to help every generation SEE clearly, ROOT deeply in Christ, STAND firmly, and LIVE fully, In Real Life. We learn to recognize what is forming us, know who we are and Whose we are, resist lies, and return to truth.

Parents approaching the tween years deserve to be equipped before the pressure begins. Parents already witnessing harm need support and a way forward. Young people need adults who will listen, act, and walk beside them.

We can put God back at the center of our hearts and homes. We can lead by example. We can rebuild the relationships, rhythms, and communities our children need.

That is how we change culture: by living what we say we believe and protecting the children God has entrusted to our care.

I am sounding the alarm because I have experienced and witnessed too much grief, loss, and heartache. My children are still alive, and I am here to tell the tale. Too many parents cannot say the same. We cannot assume our family is safe simply because our children are home while the danger reaches them through a device.

I will go to my grave fighting for our children’s hearts and minds. I refuse to accept a society where children are sold for sex and families are devastated while we call it normal.

We are in a spiritual war. SEE it clearly. ROOT ourselves in Christ. STAND firmly. Put on the full armor of God and build our homes on His truth, so when the enemy comes to steal, we are ready to resist.

We have a sacred responsibility. Armor up. Let’s go.