Reading scores are dropping across the country, and behind every statistic is a child trying to make sense of words, meaning, and identity. In today's episode of Facing the Dark, Wayne and Dr. Kathy unpack why reading matters so deeply, not just for academics but for confidence, identity, and a child's formation. They explore a Georgia district working to retrain teachers, explain why vocabulary and decoding are such obstacles today, and show parents simple, powerful ways to support struggling readers using the 8 Great Smarts. With wisdom from Scripture, especially the beautiful pattern in Acts 8, this episode gives parents practical hope: you can help your child learn to read, and you don't have to panic or do it alone.

Gender confusion doesn't begin in the body, it begins in the mind. And the way kids think is shaped by the worldview they're given. In today's episode of Raising Gender-Confident Kids, Wayne and Dr. Kathy unpack Chapter 4 of Raising Gender-Confident Kids and explain how worldview becomes the lens through which kids interpret reality, identity, feelings, and truth. They explore why kids need a worldview big enough to handle disappointment, how emotions can hijack decision-making, and why mentoring kids through the Five Core Needs builds clarity instead of confusion. Practical, deep, and hope-filled, this episode will help you guide your kids to see themselves the way God sees them.

Holiday gatherings can feel like a joyful reunion, or a pressure-filled performance. In this Thanksgiving episode of Facing in the Dark, Wayne and Dr. Kathy unpack why kids struggle during big family events, how parents can prepare them beforehand, and what it looks like to approach the holidays with patience, curiosity, and a heart aimed at connection rather than perfection. You'll learn how to lower anxiety, handle family dynamics, create space for rest, and help kids feel secure as they reconnect with relatives they barely know.

Kids often build their Christmas lists from influencer recommendations, trending videos, and carefully curated feeds. But what if we used gift-giving to help kids feel truly seen—not just marketed to? In today's Facing in the Dark, Wayne and Dr. Kathy explore how parents can use this season to cultivate discernment, deepen connection, and choose gifts that strengthen identity rather than feed consumer pressure. You'll learn how to navigate social-media-driven wants, avoid gift-giving guilt, and lean into meaningful, memorable ways to bless your kids this Christmas.

Gratitude isn't just a holiday feeling, it's a way of seeing the world. In today's Facing in the Dark, Wayne Stender and Dr. Kathy Koch explore why thankfulness is essential for a child's identity, maturity, and resilience. Drawing from Dr. Kathy's book Parent Differently, they unpack how gratitude protects against entitlement, strengthens character, deepens humility, and centers kids on God's goodness. Together they discuss how families can build rhythms that cultivate gratitude year-round, how remembering anchors identity, and why thankful hearts shine light into the dark places kids face today.

Before you hand your child their first device, consider this: tech boundaries aren't rules, they're love in action. In today's Facing in the Dark, Wayne Stender and Dr. Kathy Koch unpack why shared expectations around phones and screens help kids feel secure, valued, and connected. Drawing from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Kathy explains how a family media plan, and a "we, not you" mindset, creates clarity, prevents conflict, and protects character. They explore co-authoring agreements with kids, resetting tech habits when things have slipped, and why thoughtful shifts don't harm a child's security, they strengthen it. This honest, grace-filled conversation centers on identity, belonging, and how families can create a tech culture rooted in peace, faith, and love.

Find Dr. Kathy's Family Media Covenant developed with Techless Wireless here>>

Considering a phone for your child? Check out Techless Wireless>>

In this episode, Wayne and Dr. Kathy examine the swirling headlines about a supposed "dramatic decline" in transgender identification. They reveal why the current data has major methodological issues, why some trends reverse when properly weighted, and why numbers—whether up or down—tell us nothing about a child's internal world. The heart of the episode centers on identity formation: how confusion takes root, why kids grasp for labels, and how cultural pendulums create whiplash for an already overwhelmed generation.

Dr. Kathy explains the five core needs (security, identity, belonging, purpose, competence) and shows how the identity need sits at the center of gender confidence. The pair offer practical, grace-filled coaching for parents navigating these waters with kids who are not struggling—and kids who are very much in the struggle. The episode closes with a reminder that this cultural moment is actually a perfect opportunity for parents to speak truth, stability, and love into their kids' lives more intentionally than ever.

If our kids can ask a chatbot for every answer, what happens to their ability to think? To struggle? To wrestle with an idea long enough for it to shape them? Wayne Stender and Dr. Kathy Koch dig into the hidden cost of growing up in an AI-accelerated world. They explore research showing how automation is changing workplaces and may be changing the cognitive wiring of the next generation.

Wayne shares a classroom moment where students traded screens for paper and suddenly came alive, wrestling through ideas, searching for their own words, and discovering the power of slow thinking. Dr. Kathy explains why struggle isn't failure, it's formation. Kids who push through discomfort develop creativity, discernment, people-skills, and self-efficacy, traits that technology cannot automate and AI cannot produce.

Together they ask the question every parent now faces: Are we raising kids who can think deeply, connect relationally, and lead wisely in a world that wants to think for them?
This rich conversation offers hope—and practical insight—for families who want their kids to be more than consumers of answers. They want them to become thinkers, creators, friends, leaders, disciples, and whole people.