2.22 Dana Robb and Brittany Homer discuss Giving Children a Good Foundation and Keeping Them Safe Online

Currents: the Big Ocean Women Podcast

We seek after wisdom, and we believe wisdom is the highest possible form of knowledge.

Brittany Homer from the Raising Today’s Kids podcast and Project Stand.

“I remember when I was young, realizing the importance of giving children a good foundation, how if they are given a good foundation in their life, then there is no limit to their potential.” – Brittany Homer

“Anytime you try to change the economy of God, you’re doing it wrong.” – Haitian guide as remembered by Brittany Homer

“In order to help children be successful, in order to help them reach their potential, parents have to do their job, and parents have to know how to do their job, and parents have to feel empowered.” – Brittany Homer

“If I’m going to prevent human trafficking, I’ve got to address pornography exposure and help people prevent that or address that.” – Brittany Homer

“We felt like, in order to keep kids safe from all of these forms of sexual exploitation that are out there, we’ve got to help them be safe online.” – Brittany Homer

“Really the most important factor is that parent-child relationship.” – Brittany Homer

Some organizations that Brittany mentioned include the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Fight the New Drug, White Ribbon Week, Defend Young Minds, The Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation, the Utah Coalition Against Pornography, Utah PTA Digital Wellness Committee, and Safeguard Alliance.

“I love how we are all in the business of trying to help children and strengthen families.” – Brittany Homer

“I feel like God is at the core of everything that I do, and so I find a lot of strength in Him, and I feel like sometimes He guides me to spend some time learning, and sometimes He guides me to just slow down and focus on the people.” – Brittany Homer

“Too much screen time can be related to sleep. Problems, aggression, desensitization, nightmares, fear, impulsivity, depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, low attention span. I mean, there's so, so many negative things that are associated with too much screen time.” – Brittany Homer

“The more time someone uses social media, the more likely they are to be depressed. Social media increases the risk of bullying, clique forming, sexual experimentation. It leads to privacy issues, Internet addiction, sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression.” – Brittany Homer

“Cyberbullying – One in four children has experienced cyberbullying, and cyberbullying victims are two times more likely to commit suicide.” – Brittany Homer

“This statistic blew my mind: 27% of all video content online is pornographic.” – Brittany Homer

“I’m very hopeful, because I know that children can be resilient.” – Brittany Homer

“I believe that an educated parent can just be so powerful in the lives of their kids and protecting them.” – Brittany Homer

“I’m just so glad that you followed up those statistics with hope and that idea that if we can teach them to use their screen time wisely, then there’s nothing that they can’t do. I think that’s really encouraging and exciting. It puts a lot of pressure on us parents, but it’s exciting. We can become educated.” – Dana Robb

Healthy Technology Path

“Take ‘Just a SEC’ – Stop, Evaluate, Choose – whenever you’re going to post or search or share something online.” – Brittany Homer

“I love your approach to questions. It’s not accusatory. It’s not assuming that they’re doing something bad or dumb, and you’re allowing them to collaborate with you and to share their inner selves. And I love the section where you focus on values and helping them discover their own. I think, as parents so many times we assume that we’re going to instill in them our values and what’s important to us is going to be important to them, but it’s so much more powerful to discover where they’re at and help them decide on their values, and there’s such a range of good values out there. We don’t have to have all the same things.” – Dana Robb

“Parents are the most important protective factor, and you are qualified to be the parent of your children. And not only are you qualified, but you're qualified today right now.” – Brittany Homer

“Wisdom is achieved by uniting our internal compass or conscience with our life experiences.” – Dana Robb

Brittany has always believed that with the right tools and support there is no limit to a child’s potential. She has a master's degree in Family and Human Development, is a Certified Family Life Educator, and is creator and host of the podcast, Raising Today’s Kids where she shares her deep belief in the power of parents. Brittany has also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Sexual Assault (SANE) Advocate, and is actively involved in the Safeguard Alliance (a task force of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation).

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Brittany has a bucket list the length of Montana. She would love to experience every adventure from learning to yodel, to running an ultra-marathon, to seeing the northern lights from a hot spring. She loves to travel and integrate with the locals wherever she goes and has had life-changing conversations in cultures from Israel to Haiti. The experience that trumps all others though, is that of being a mother. She and her husband feel so blessed to have four children who inspire her to fight to protect all children.