Phones at the dinner table. DMs at midnight. Screens that seem impossible to put down.

Digital life is part of everyday life. But how do we raise wise, healthy, spiritually grounded kids in the midst of it?

In this episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, host Sarah Cowan Johnson talks with Jamie Gordon, a licensed social worker, mom of three, and director of the social work program at Screen Sanity, an international nonprofit equipping parents to navigate tech and screen use with clarity and purpose. Jamie also serves as the intake coordinator at legal firm Husch Blackwell’s human trafficking clinic, where she supports survivors with care and expertise.

Sarah and Jamie unpack the real-life effects of screen time, from emotional dysregulation and loneliness to redefined friendships and dopamine-driven addiction cycles. But they don’t stop at the problem. With warmth, insight, and numerous practical tips, they offer tools to guide families toward digital health, deeper connection, and Christ-centered purpose amid our tech-saturated world.

Tune in to a conversation that will leave you encouraged and equipped to parent intentionally and faithfully in the digital age.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• The science behind dopamine, addiction, and screens
• A faith-based lens for forming your family’s tech boundaries
• How to talk with your kids, not just at them, to understand the “whys” behind their technology choices

Links from the episode:

• Explore free and paid resources at screensanity.org
• Explore Screen Sanity’s Social Media Playbook
• Explore Screen Sanity’s First Phone Comparison Chart
• Read Andy Crouch’s book The Life We're Looking For
• Read Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation
• Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read the transcript here
• Take the survey here

Credits

✅Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPTEACH25 for 25% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅Producers: Helen Lee, Kaitlin Borek, and Travis Albritton

✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.

From playgrounds to high school hallways to your kitchen table, more families than ever are feeling the weight of fear, stress, and emotional overwhelm. As parents, it’s hard enough to manage our own emotions, let alone help our kids process theirs.

So, how can we help our children walk through anxiety with hope, wisdom, and a grounded sense of peace?

In this episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, host Sarah Cowan Johnson welcomes Dr. Kevin Chapman, a licensed clinical psychologist and a leading expert in anxiety and emotional health. He’s the founder and director of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders and the author of Mastering Our Emotions: Biblical Principles for Emotional Health. In addition to clinical expertise, Dr. Chapman brings a deep understanding on how Scripture speaks into our emotional lives, drawing connections between cognitive behavioral therapy and the renewing of the mind described in Romans 12.

Together, Sarah and Dr. Chapman explore how anxiety shows up in families, why labels can hurt more than they can help, and what it means to parent with emotional awareness and spiritual authority. Whether you're navigating your child’s anxiety, your own, or both, this episode offers clarity, encouragement, and practical tools rooted in both science and Scripture.

Tune in now to discover how God’s word and proven strategies can transform the way you understand and handle anxiety in your home.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• Why anxiety is rising in kids—and how to respond with wisdom
• How to reframe negative thoughts using the skill of “being renewed”
• Practical ways to help kids interrupt anxious spirals

“Steal This Idea” breath prayers:

Inhale: The Lord is my shepherd

Exhale: I have everything I need

Inhale: Come, Holy Spirit

Exhale: You are welcome here

Inhale: I worship you, God

Exhale: Fill me with your love

Links from the episode:

• Learn more about Dr. Kevin Chapman and his practice
• Read Dr. Kevin Chapman’s book: Mastering Our Emotions: Biblical Principles for Emotional Health
• Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
• Read the transcript here
• Take the survey here

Credits

✅Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPTEACH25 for 25% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅Producers: Helen Lee, Kaitlin Borek, and Travis Albritton

✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

What if your child doesn’t “fit the mold” of what is considered successful and flourishing?

Christian parents in today’s culture can get swept up in the pursuit of achievement, perfection, and performance. They often feel pressure to measure their children’s success by grades, behavior, or milestones. But what happens when your child doesn’t hit those marks—or when you begin to question whether those marks matter in the first place?

In this powerful episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, host Sarah Cowan Johnson welcomes Amy Julia Becker—author, speaker, and mother of three—for a profound conversation on parenting, disability, and what it really means to live the good life. Amy Julia is the author of To Be Made Well, White Picket Fences, Small Talk, and A Good and Perfect Gift, and the creator of the Reimagining Family Life with Disability workshop. Through her writing and podcasting, she helps others explore how disability, faith, and culture shape our vision of wholeness.

Amy Julia opens up about how her vision of the good life, once shaped by merit, achievement, and perfection, was undone and lovingly rebuilt. Through formative moments such as her own health crisis, the loss of a loved one, and the birth of her daughter Penny, she began to see that limitation is not a flaw to be overcome but a deeply human experience that can draw us closer to God. Sarah and Amy Julia reflect on how parenting through the lens of disability reveals the hidden values we carry, and how belovedness—not performance—is the foundation for true identity and growth.

Whether or not disability touches your family directly, this conversation offers a deeply human invitation to embrace limitations, see God’s image in every child, and parent with grace rather than pressure.

Tune in now to reimagine family life through a lens of grace, humanity, and spiritual formation—one that embraces both gifts and challenges, and makes room for every child to flourish.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• How cultural narratives about success distort our vision of the good life
• Why every child—regardless of ability—bears the image of God
• How to shift from performance to belovedness in our parenting

Links from the episode:

• Learn more about Amy Julia Becker
• Read Amy Julia Becker’s books: To Be Made Well, White Picket Fences, Small Talk, and A Good and Perfect Gift
• Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read the transcript here
• Take the survey here

Credits

✅Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPTEACH25 for 25% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅Producers: Helen Lee, Kaitlin Borek, and Travis Albritton

✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.