Navigating Technology as a Family of Faith
With a teen, tween and 8-year-old in our house, we are very much navigating what feels like our 6th family member – The Screen. Let’s be honest—raising kids in a digital world can feel overwhelming. As a parent trying to keep faith at the centre of our home, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to balance screen time, online influences, and spiritual growth. I have had moments of “that’s it, all the screens in this house are gone forever!” and then moments of “Watch this great video about how God is so much bigger than your fear”. I’m slowly settling into a mindset that feels like good news - we don’t have to figure it all out perfectly—we just need to be intentional.
Our kids say I’m strict, but that’s when they hear about the child in their class who spent 11 hours scrolling and gaming yesterday or the statistic that the average daily screen time of a teenager in the UK is 7 hours! One thing that’s helped our family is setting some simple tech boundaries. We try to keep mornings and mealtimes screen-free and have a daily screen time limit so we can connect. It’s not always easy (and there are negotiations and debates!), but those little pauses make a big difference, which hopefully one day our children will look back on and appreciate.
We’ve also found ways to let technology support our faith instead of distract from it. Whether it's listening to worship music during car rides (our current favourites are Forrest Frank, Josiah Queen and Jervis Campbell), using the Bible app for some easy and helpful direction to get into God’s Word (granted messages from friends pinging can be a distraction but it’s a start!), watching a faith-based movie on family night, or sharing video clips from faith-filled influencers—it all adds up. There are so many great resources out there to help bring God’s Word into daily life.
That said, the biggest thing I’ve learnt is that our example speaks the loudest. When our kids hear us singing along to worship songs in the kitchen, see us reading our Bible (even if its digital), when they see us choosing content thoughtfully and talking about what we watch (and choose not to watch), when we chat about how characters behave and are portrayed in what they enjoy watching and when we turn to God for wisdom in navigating technology and their screen negotiations - they notice. It opens up some great conversations, too.
We’re not always going to get it right, but with prayer, a little creativity, and guidance from God, we can raise kids who love God and know how to use technology in a healthy, faith-filled way. So here’s to balance and wisdom, and faith that God can speak to us and our kids through anything, even screens!
This blog was written by our Farnborough Families Pastor, Kelly Heath