Understanding Child Development

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Parents are having to compete with social media influencers and AI companions for kids’ attention.

Traditional community reinforcement of family values is facing powerful competition from online influences.

Building a strong, intentional family culture can help kids resist corrosive digital pressures.

Better family conversations and greater parent-child trust can make parents the go-to resource for guidance.

Recent study findings reflect a concern brewing in the hearts and minds of parents and educators: Are we adequately preparing students for this increasingly digital age? For example:

Pew Research Center revealed that nearly half of U.S. teens now believe that social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age; this is a sharp increase from the 32 percent who felt this way in 2022 (Faverio, Anderson, & Park, 2025).

Common Sense Media found that one in three children are already using AI for social interaction and emotional support (Robb & Mann, 2025).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Center for Health Statistics reported that teens spending four or more hours daily on screens are more than twice as likely to experience anxiety and depression (Zablotsky, Arockiaraj, Haile, & Ng, 2024).

Journal papers and news headlines regularly bring us new findings along these lines. The world is rapidly changing, so homes and schools need to keep up. But how?

Amid this unprecedented terrain, veteran educators Steven Shapiro and Nancy Shapiro Rapport cofounded Our Family Culture to help parents raise emotionally healthy kids. Their angle on this goal is unique: building intentional family cultures. Intrigued by this approach’s potential, I joined their Board of Advisors and asked them about how intentional........

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