What Our Kids Watch Is Shaping Their Souls
Let’s not sugarcoat it: the TV shows, YouTube channels, TikToks, and films we allow our youngsters to look at absolutely matter. This isn’t some fringe issue or overreaction. It’s not nearly avoiding just a few bad words or shielding them from scary images. It’s about recognizing the big spiritual, emotional, and psychological influence that media has on the hearts and minds of our kids—and us.
What we devour, together with what our kids devour through media, has the ability to shape minds, change behaviors, and even distort the reality about life, love, identity, and God. Yet, many Christian parents—dedicated to God, following Jesus, and often attending church—are unknowingly entrusting the spiritual development of their children to Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and TikTok, with out a second thought.
Yes, it matters. It matters greater than we expect.
Jesus said it plainly in Luke 6:45, “An excellent man brings good things out of the great stored up in his heart…for the mouth speaks what the center is stuffed with.”
What does this mean? Ultimately, what you set in will come out. Garbage in, garbage out.
And in our culture today, the media is entering into at an alarming rate.
According to Common Sense Media, the common child within the U.S. spends nearly five hours a day consuming screen media, and that number only increases with age. Think about that: five hours of input from sources that, most of the time, don’t share your faith, your values, or your moral compass. Instead, lots of these shows and videos normalize riot, sexual immorality, gender confusion, disrespect, violence, and the mocking of godly authority. They present sin as entertainment and godlessness as normal.
Some of us wouldn’t dream of letting our youngsters spend five minutes alone with a stranger who didn’t share our values—yet we hand them a screen and permit them to look at unsupervised for hours.
Paul warned us in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
You cannot renew your mind in Christ while always filling it with filth. You cannot raise holy, grounded children while letting the world catechize them through cartoons and trending videos.
We’re raising a generation that knows every line from a Marvel movie or Disney song but can’t recite the Lord’s Prayer or name the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, as we’re busy, distracted, or considering, “it’s not that deep,” the enemy is sowing confusion and compromise through what they watch.
It’s Not Just Entertainment—It’s Discipleship in Disguise
Research supports this. Studies from the American Academy of Pediatrics have shown that exposure to violent or inappropriate media content correlates with increases in aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, earlier sexual intercourse, and better levels of hysteria and depression. Media teaches our kids what to admire, what to laugh at, what to aspire to, and what to imagine about themselves and the world.
And here’s the truly dangerous part: much of the spiritual decay doesn’t occur through a single shocking episode or one offensive scene. It unfolds through slow, regular conditioning. The normalization of behaviors and relationships outlined within the Bible as ungodly in nearly every children’s storyline, the subtle jabs at dads, and the portrayal of mothers as either clueless or controlling. The way disrespect toward authority is framed as humor, and riot is promoted as bravery. The confusion of gender identity is presented not as only a alternative, but with no consideration, and anyone who questions it’s deemed hateful.
It doesn’t hit . It seeps in. Quietly. Over time.
We aren’t losing the following generation merely because they stopped going to church; we’re losing them because they never genuinely knew God in the primary place—another person has been shaping their worldview while we weren’t being attentive.
Why Media Choices Matter for You and Your Kids
We must watch what they watch. Period. That’s our job. We are the gatekeepers of our home. That’s not being overprotective—that’s being a parent. A shepherd. A steward of the hearts God has entrusted to us.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a toddler in the way in which he should go; even when he’s old he is not going to depart from it.”
But how can we train them in righteousness if their each day weight loss plan is crammed with unrighteousness? How can we expect them to like God with all their hearts while we allow them to binge-watch shows that mock Him?
We have to be intentional.
We can’t control all the pieces our youngsters will see or hear, but we are able to set a tone. We can say, “In this house, we don’t watch shows that glorify sin.” We can use tools like VidAngel or ClearPlay to filter content. We can replace trash with treasure—there are healthful, faith-affirming TV shows and films available. Most importantly, we are able to lead by example.
Because here’s the reality we regularly avoid discussing: this isn’t just in regards to the kids; it’s about us, too!
What we feed our own hearts shapes our moods, our marriages, our mindsets, and our spiritual clarity. You can’t watch trash all week and expect to feel spiritually strong on Sunday. That’s not how it really works. You can’t spend hours laughing at sin, lusting after characters, or tuning out with meaningless entertainment—after which expect your prayer life to be powerful or your spiritual discernment to be sharp.
Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is correct, whatever is pure, whatever is beautiful, whatever is admirable—if anything is great or praiseworthy—think on this stuff.”
If that’s what we’re called to think on, then that’s what we must always be watching, listening to, and exposing our families to.
The Bible says Satan masquerades as an angel of sunshine (2 Corinthians 11:14). Don’t think for a second that he won’t use a “cute” cartoon or a “funny” sitcom to plant lies, stir riot, or sow seeds of confusion in your own home.
How to Guard Your Home, Guide Your Kids, and Glorify God Through Media
Let’s stop surrendering our youngsters’ minds to the culture.
Let’s stop giving the enemy a seat on the table through our TVs, tablets, and phones.
We are in a battle for the hearts of the following generation—and media is considered one of the enemy’s most potent weapons. However, it doesn’t must be. With wisdom, discernment, and conviction, we are able to reclaim our homes as places of holiness and truth.
Start today. Sit down together with your kids and ask them what they’re watching. Enjoy it together. Ask them questions and discuss it. Teach them how one can discern what aligns with God’s Word and what doesn’t. At first, they could appear standoffish and confused, but that’s okay. Be clever. Stay the course; you’re the parent.
And then, model it. Let your personal media selections reflect your values, not your cravings. Let your own home be a spot where truth is honored, righteousness is well known, and God is just not mocked—but glorified.
Because yes—it absolutely matters.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Gaelle Marcel
Cynthia Garrett broke barriers when she became the primary African American woman within the U.S. to host a network late-night show, NBC’s Later with Cynthia Garrett. She is currently seen on TBN and Salem Media networks, in addition to on Fox News and other news outlets, addressing cultural issues and today’s news. The Cynthia Garrett Podcasts premiere weekly on all major podcast platforms.
A highly sought-after speaker, creator, TV host, and ordained minister, Garrett is the creator of The Naked Truth: Reclaiming Sexual Freedom in a Culture of Lies (2024), I Choose Victory: Moving from Victim to Victor (2020), and Prodigal Daughter: A Journey Home to Identity (2016). For more information, visit www.cynthiagarrett.org
