To the momma who woke up today exhausted but still packed the lunched, got down the cereal and kissed little foreheads – you are doing wonderfully.
To the momma who is waking in those bleary eyed nights answering the call of a hungry infant pushing through the fog to smile and coo – you are seen and your love will be felt for decades.
To the momma who is carefully navigating toddler fits, teen attitudes or the aching silence of your newly emptied nest – you are known by a God who calls you His, and His love will cover when you feel you cannot do much more.
To the momma who works outside or inside her home, or the one that does both – your sacrifices matter even when you feel they go unnoticed.
To the momma who is elbow deep in curriculum while one is moaning about school work and the other is asking for another snack – you are not alone, motherhood has power when we are in it together.
To the mommas who are grieving, praying, hoping or remembering today – you are held close in my heart, and in the hands of our Saviour.
An earnest thanks to you – for the kisses on boo-boos, for the quiet prayers, for fierce protection, the sleepless nights, the pangs of labor. There is not one perfect way to be a mother, some days feel victorious, others like total fails, but you keep showing up.
You are wonderfully made, the exact mom that was created for your exact children, with the strength of a love that grew within you before you even held them. On the days you do not feel strong or confident, remember you are the steady heartbeat of your home.
As a homeschool family who loves to read aloud together, we often are looking for some non-screen ways to find entertainment, ESPECIALLY when driving around on errands or traveling to the Great White North to visit family. Enter in PODCASTS! We have been enjoying podcasts for the last year or more, and we are excited to share our Earnest Favorites with you! NOTE: We love all of these the most, and are listed in no particular order!
Moment of Um – From Brains On! Universe
Moment of Um answers those questions that pop up out of nowhere. You know, the ones that make you squint a little and go ummmmmmm. This podcast offers a bite sized listen (usually 3-6 minutes) so for those quick trips in the car, The Moment of Um is perfect. Listen to one while you are waiting in the school drop off line or for the grocery pick up. Gets the kids giggling, learning and figuring some out of this world questions.
Nat Theo: Nature Lessons Rooted in the Bible – Hosted by Erin Lynum
Discover God’s wonderful creation rooted in the truth of his Word! Nat = Natural, Theo = Theology. Where kids dive into the study of Natural Theology—discovering God through nature! We love listening and learning along with real world science rooted in the Gospel, as a homeschool family this podcast has been a great resource. These episodes can be 20-30 minutes so we plan one or two for longer rides.
Culture Kids Productions
Inspired by Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect, Culture Kids Productions believes that small, consistent actions can lead to extraordinary change. By introducing children to the wonders of global cultures in an engaging, heartfelt way; they plant the seeds of curiosity, empathy, and understanding that will grow into compassionate, collaborative individuals. We enjoy my sweet friend Kristen and her son Asher, as they explore countries, cultures and traditions, these episodes have been great when running around town, usually 15-25 minutes long. After the first few episodes my kiddos were begging to try bibimbap – we loved it!!
SMASH BOOM BEST from Brains On! Universe
Smash Boom Best is a debate show for kids and families from the makers of the award-winning podcast, Brains On! Every episode takes two cool things, smashes them together and lets you decide which is best. Our debaters use facts and passion to make their case — teaching listeners how to defend their own opinions along the way. We laugh sometimes to tears, then learn debate fallacies that weaken arguments, helping us defend our stance. This is an Earnest Family affair, we save these longer (usually 30 minutes) episodes for longer trips and we pause the episode numerous times to cast our votes for our favorites until the end. This podcast has been known to keep us in the driveway to finish the episodes (even keeps the teen engaged)!
Hey-O Stories of the Bible by Saddleback Kids
Hey-O Stories of the Bible podcast tells the stories from God’s special book, the Bible, accurately and in a way that is engaging to children of all ages. This one is super fun and fast, 2-5 minute episodes that are great when church is only 10 minutes away. Kids love it when we hear biblical accounts that match their bible lessons that day!
These are only our top 5, we have been exploring more and more, a few honourable mentions are: Who Smarted?, Forever Ago, Real Cool History for Kids, and Million Bazillion. If you are looking to shake up your podcast list, or just starting to listen to them with your kids – try one some of these, they are earnest approved and we know you will love them too!
Stay tuned as I share my top ten mom podcasts recommendations!
My oldest and I were recently invited to sit on a panel for the Common Sense Summit on Kids and Families. The event took place in San Francisco last week. We discussed parenthood in this digital time. We sat with resident Aura Chief Medical Officer, Scott Kollins; the amazing Editor in Chief for Parent Magazine, Grace Bastidas; and Jill Murphy, the Chief Content Officer for Common Sense Media. To say we sat among giants in the tech field would be an understatement of this 2-day event. This summit gave stage to many voices that need to be heard. These included youth voices, policymakers, and experts in adolescence and brain science. It allowed tech companies that need to hear them to listen.
The Common Sense Summit was organized by Common Sense Media (CSM), it is a parent tech support website. I have referenced it as a tool I use to navigate movie, book, and game content. I do this before my children view, read, or play them. This was the second annual event for CSM, and it was eye-opening for me; here are my earnest takeaways.
Parents feel lonely while navigating this space. I received an overwhelming outpouring of appreciation from fellow blog moms, podcasters, and women in technology. They thanked me for speaking up for parents in this space. I met so many parents. They feel like technology and their children are an incredible demand on them. There are few or no resources available for them. The research is being done and stats are rolling in; this tech world is more dangerous than we thought. I do not want to take away from the distinct advantages that technology can bring to our world. It can even enhance learning and experiences for children. However, the mass unregulated content that is available today is causing harm and trauma to children. This is no light issue. As a mom to three, I favor the “less is best” policy when it comes to technology. This policy, according to this conference, landed my family in the “outlier” category. Wherever parents stand on when and how to give tech/screens to their children, the common feeling is this is hard. We are going at it alone.
The next takeaway is that tech companies care, but it feels surface-level. This conference was sold out, and from Apple to YouTube to Anthropic, companies were here to listen. Unfortunately, I struggle to see the action behind this listening. As a parent, it feels as though tech companies will say the right things. However, our children are still left vulnerable in areas that are growing so quickly. It feels impossible to keep up with them. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is an eye-opening book. It discusses the real toll that “phone-based childhoods” are taking on our next generations (a read I highly recommend). All the while, big tech companies are adding more and more ways to have apps hidden on phones. These apps are masked as safe. More content is available for young eyes before their brains are ready. However, one of the stars that stood out to me from this conference was Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest. He shared the levels that Pinterest has gone to in order to keep it safe for children. As a result, it is not like other social media. I always felt that Pinterest was my ‘safe’ app, the one I open and just dream—well, no wonder! They worked hard to make it. They kept it that way even when they lost monetarily to start. All social media companies should follow suit!
California is leading the US in policy to keep children safe on technology. New York follows closely. My earnest kiddo and I left with an urgent need to take action. We decided to write to our legislators and state representatives. We want to call on them to create laws for safer online environments for children and youth. This includes safety on phones, social media, and with AI. Think globally, act locally, right?! We are writing our letters today. We are asking for policy change. You can too if this resonates with you. Google your state representatives and get their emails. Ask them what they are doing to keep our most vulnerable populations safe in this unregulated tech world. Luckily, we have a state representative’s office less than a mile away, and we will be hand delivering his letter.
The last takeaway was this: I am so grateful that we waited until 14 years old before getting our oldest a phone. We have no plan for any social media (other than Pinterest) before 18. I did my own research, Grace exclaimed on our panel that I have “read actual research papers”. I explored any and all I could find about screen time, social media, and tech on growing brains. Years ago, when phones entered our parent radar, there was as little as I could find. All signs pointed to wait. Wait to give phones. Wait for social media. Wait until you have done research on how technology like this is affecting our children. What we did in our home seemed like an anomaly to many we met with, yet inspired many more. It is okay to wait and learn. It is safer to avoid handing over the tiniest computer. This can lead to unsafe spaces accessible in their pockets.
It was such an honor to grace the same stage as Hillary Clinton, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, and Geoffrey Canada. The greater honor was the chance to speak to parents. They are struggling with deciding when and how to introduce AI, phones, and social media to their children. To share our story and have it resonate with so many, I was truly blessed. Be sure to check out the Common Sense Summit on Kids and Families next year. I am certain it will only get better from here! You can also view this year’s panels by searching #CSSUMMIT25.
Stay tuned. I will share what we did before introducing a personal mobile smart phone to our 14 year old soon.
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