Excellent book discussing the need for parents to take an active role in the family’s media consumption. This was very helpful for us adults as well and gave practical advice on how to discipline ourselves in what we consume. Self control is important as we aim to glorify God and renew our minds. The authors make a compelling case for renewing our minds and carefully examining what we let in. Stories are everywhere. Choose better.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC to review for my honest opinion.

I have received a copy via NetGalley. This is my voluntary review.

I was not familiar with "Plugged In" but I think they have a very good grip on the subject. This brief, easy-to-use book discusses family media usage, rules and expectations, influences, how to consider plots and lyrics in the light of Christ, and how different types of media affect in different ways. They even discussed books, which I appreciated. Too many poor quality or even harmful books get let into an otherwise well-guarded home simply by virtue of their being a printed format of entertainment.

I would highly recommend this especially to parents who either grew up in an age before a lot of modern tech (although those parents generally have children beyond the age of supreme parental authority by now) or to parents who converted to Christianity later in life. Those of us who grew up with Christian parents in the late 90s or 2000s probably saw a lot of this modelled.

Good show, folks!

Becoming a Screen – Savvy Family – How to Navigate a Media-Saturated World and Why We Should by the Plugged in Staff is a new upcoming book. If you are not familiar with Plugged In, they provide reviews on media with content about the positives and negatives, violence, sexual content, language, etc… This is something I have used to help determine if a movie is good to watch with my children. They also do reviews on apps, songs, YouTube… This book covers the pros and cons of the media. It also covers the importance of stories and how to determine what makes a good story.

Lots of examples were provided in this book along with facts to help us parents make wise choices for us and our families. These are things as parents we definitely need to be aware of. Because what we put in, can and does have an effect on us. We live in a world of “electronic heroin”.

I was a child who did not grow up in a world filled with video games, YouTube, cell phones, and unlimited screen entertainment. Many of you reading this probably didn’t either, but we are raising our children in it, and it is something that we don’t have much experience with. However, we parents have a responsibility to be aware of the dangers lurking out there on screens and what our children are consuming. Thankfully, there are organizations and books out there to help us navigate this in a Biblical way.

This book is a must-read for Christians raising children today. I've read other books on how screen usage affects the brain and why we should limit screen-time, but this is the first I've read from a Christian perspective, and that makes a big difference. Rather than prescriptive rules, the book gets to the heart of why we use entertainment (and this book discusses many mediums that others do not, including books and music; perhaps "Media-Savvy Family" might have been a more appropriate - albeit less-catchy - title). The book also acknowledges the good in entertainment; it's pointed out that media can be great, especially since the Bible itself is a book! So rather than telling parents not to let kids ever use a screen, the book has some good information and specific suggestions, backed by research, to help Christian parents wisely consider how their family should engage with various forms of entertainment.

Multiple writers contributed to the book, and they worked well together; I will likely look in the future at Plugged In's other work in Focus on the Family. My biggest, favorite take-away from the book, which multiple writers, emphasized, is the importance of dialogue with your family about the media you're consuming. There are specific, practical questions you can ask your kids about what they're watching, reading, etc., and the questions are adjusted for various age groups.

I will likely purchase this book so I can have it for reference in the future, and I will recommend it to my friends as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free eARC. This review is voluntary and honest. I will also post this review on Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram within 30 days of its publication.