While you're fighting for family values at the dinner table, the enemy's already moved into your living room — disguised as a 12-minute cartoon.
Let’s Get Uncomfortably Honest for a Sec
Here’s the thing nobody really wants to say out loud: your kids are being discipled. Every day. Not necessarily in Sunday school, not just at home, but in pixels, plotlines, and pop songs.
That sweet, catchy YouTube short? It’s preaching a worldview.
The “harmless” cartoon? It’s got a doctrine.
The video game with slick graphics and endless quests? Yep, theology included. And the kicker? It’s working. Better than most churches, and better than most parents.
That’s the uncomfortable truth Nathan and D’Lytha, creators of the faith-filled family film Aria Appleton, didn’t sugarcoat in a recent conversation. Their words hit hard:
“Entertainment is discipling our children, and more often, it’s doing a better job than the Church. That should alarm us.”
Yeah. Ouch.
The Real Battle Is Happening in Our Living Rooms
We tend to picture the big battles for our kids’ hearts happening somewhere far away. Meanwhile, the frontlines have quietly crept into our living rooms, bedrooms and backseats.
Kids are watching more content than ever, often unsupervised, and soaking up ideas faster than you can say “algorithm.”
We’re talking:
A huge share of their media coming from YouTube and endless short-video feeds
Entire worldviews shaped by TikTok “life advice”
Morality lessons from fictional villains who get sympathy arcs
Heroes whose values look nothing like biblical truth
And while we’re working our 9-to-5 (or let’s be honest, 7-to-6), those screens don’t clock out. They’re teaching your kids what to love, what to laugh at, what to believe, and what to worship.
And it keeps evolving. Today it’s not just shows and songs. It’s game worlds where kids spend hours with strangers, autoplay feeds that never run out, and even AI chatbot “friends” that are happy to give your child life advice at 11pm. The format changes every year. The question stays the same: who is shaping my kid’s heart?
“‘And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” — Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NKJV)
God’s original discipleship plan was never a once-a-week program. It was everyday conversation, at the table, in the car, at bedtime. Which is exactly where the screens have moved in.
Three Big Problems (And You’ve Probably Felt All of Them)
Time:
Most parents are maxed out. By the time dinner’s made and homework’s halfway done, you’re lucky if you can stay awake through a 10-minute bedtime story. Competing with 5+ hours of content a day? That’s a tough gig.Authority:
Let’s not pretend culture hasn’t tried to sideline moms and dads altogether. Schools, celebrities, influencers: they’re the new “trusted voices.” Parents? Just annoying obstacles with screen time limits.Volume & Strategy:
The entertainment industry isn’t winging it. They know exactly what they’re doing, from dopamine-triggering seven-second edits in toddler shows to characters designed to hook emotion and normalize dysfunction.
The goal? Capture the heart. Shape the mind. And never let go.
But Here’s the Hope (and the Challenge)
It’s tempting to respond with censorship and content filters. And yes, boundaries are essential. But Nathan and D’Lytha argue it’s not enough to play defense. We need offense. And not just “safe” media, but pro-God media.
What’s the difference?
“Clean” avoids the bad.
“Pro-God” points to the Good.
Their film Aria Appleton isn’t just family-friendly fluff. It tackles real-life topics like adoption, bullying, and identity, all wrapped in humor, heart, and a faith-forward foundation. Kids like it. Parents love it. Heaven rejoices. Win-win-win.
What Can We Actually Do About It?
Okay, now that we’ve all had our moment of “yikes,” here’s where we get intentional, strategic, prayerful, and proactive.
Here are some ideas straight from the conversation:
Set Tech Boundaries:
Create a charging station: no phones in bedrooms.
Designate screen-free zones (like dinner time, car rides, etc).
Have tech “detox” weekends. The world won’t end.
Model It Yourself:
Want your kids off devices? Start by putting yours down.
Be the example. Not the exception.
Reframe Tech Use:
Instead of just limiting screen time, transform it.
Start a family YouTube channel about your faith journey.
Let your kids make videos telling Bible stories or encouraging their peers.
Use tech as a tool to create, not just consume.
Bonus: Write a Family Media Covenant
This is one of my favorite ideas, and it works for toddlers through teens. Sit down together and write a simple, one-page family agreement about screens. Keep it short, sign it, and stick it on the fridge. Some starter lines:
“We’ll ask, does this point us toward what’s good? before we press play.”
“Phones sleep in the kitchen. So do Mom’s and Dad’s.”
“If something we watch bothers us, we can talk about it without getting in trouble.”
“For every hour we consume, we’ll try to create something too.”
Let the kids help write it. They’re far more likely to keep a covenant they had a hand in. (And if you’d like a printable version, join my reader list. I’ll be sharing family resources like this there.)
“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” — Psalm 101:3 (NKJV)
Or in the words of the Apostle Paul (and Nathan),
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8, NKJV)
And then post them.
Final Thought: You Don’t Have to Lose This Battle
We may not be able to shield our kids from every lie the world hurls at them. But we can drown out the noise with truth, beauty, and stories that glorify God instead of mock Him.
The real question isn’t if your child will be discipled.
It’s by whom.
So if Hollywood gets a seat at the table, make sure you’ve already served the truth first, with love, with laughter, and with unwavering conviction. The stories we tell matter. The stories we allow into our homes matter even more. Let’s write better ones.
“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” — Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
Keep reading: Is Hollywood Quietly Rewiring How We See Life? and, for the moms carrying all of this, 5 Lies Modern Women Are Told About Motherhood.
Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify to the full interview!
For more on Nathan & D’Lytha:
https://www.facebook.com/ariaappletonfilm/
https://www.instagram.com/ariaappleton/?hl=en
Watch the Aria Appleton trailer
Keep the Conversation Going
Want more of this (with extra commentary and the occasional tangent)? Catch The Elsa Kurt Show on YouTube or Spotify, or start with the Best of the Show. And if you’d like new posts, stories and behind-the-scenes updates in your inbox, join my reader list. No spam, just good things.