5 Societal Threats That Are Robbing Your Kids of Their Childhood

Childhood is a crucial developmental period in a person’s life. It’s during childhood—the period of time starting with one’s birth to age 18—that kids build habits (good or bad) that they will have with them the rest of their lives—like how to interact and communicate with others, resolve conflict, manage emotions, handle stress and meet challenges.

What kids experience during their youth largely determines whether they will grow up to become well-adjusted, optimally-functioning adults. Kids need a healthy and “normal” childhood so they’re not shortchanged when it comes to developing vital life skills.

From a biblical standpoint, it’s clear that children (and by extension, childhood) are important to God. Psalm 127:3 (NLT) states, “Children are a gift from the LORD.” A well-known verse, Proverbs 22:6 adds, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” These verses and other biblical passages underscore the value and blessing of children, encouraging parents to nurture and protect the precious offspring God has given them.

But the truth is, it’s not always easy to ensure your youngster has a “normal” childhood in which to be nurtured and taught, particularly in this day in age. Today, many educators talk about the “disappearance of childhood,” warning that society is compressing childhood more and more to where children are not “allowed” to live like children for very long.

Specifically, where kids were once were protected from adult knowledge and responsibilities, the trend now is for them to be exposed to the adult world far sooner than they’re ready. The carefree, innocence of childhood is becoming a thing of the past. Kids are under tremendous pressure to “grow up” and tackle adult-level challenges and concerns, when they haven’t had the chance to develop the maturity needed to do so.

The consequences are concerning. Numerous studies have been conducted in recent years, documenting that the incidence of mental illness (depression, anxiety, antisocial behavior, etc.) among kids is increasing in Western nations. It’s not a big leap to conclude that the diminishing of childhood (both in terms of duration and quality) is likely to be one of the root causes.

Five modern threats to childhood

Exactly how is our modern society robbing kids of their childhood? It really comes down to the following five trends:

1. Attachment to smartphones and screens

Today’s youth are growing up immersed in digital media—mobile phones, video games, laptops, tablets, etc. Starting when they’re toddlers, parents often plop their young children in front of a screen to keep them occupied with a video, and then these kids stay focused on digital devices throughout the rest of their childhoods. Even if parents are concerned about their kids spending too much time in front of a screen, it can be a difficult habit to break when digital technology has become so deeply embedded in our culture.

Obviously, in balance, a certain amount of screen time can be okay—even beneficial—providing a source of education or entertainment for children. The problem is, many children have strayed beyond just a moderate use of electronic devices.

According to an October 2024 Pew Research Center report, 95 percent of U.S. teens have access to a smartphone, and nearly half say they’re on one of the major social media sites “almost constantly.” The data for younger kids is also alarming. A February 2025 Common Sense Media study found that over half of children age 8 and younger have their own mobile devices. Moreover, this study reports that by age 2, children are typically spending around 2½ hours a day using technology. Five- to 8-year-old children spend an average of 3½ hours a day staring at screens.

All this screen time has taken away opportunities for the enriching kinds of experiences kids should be having during their childhoods, explains social psychologist Jonathan Haidt in The Anxious Generation (Penguin Press, 2024).

He writes: “Children need face-to-face, synchronous, embodied, physical play. The healthiest play is outdoors and includes occasional physical risk-taking and thrilling adventure . . . In contrast, sitting alone in your bedroom consuming a bottomless [social media] feed of other people’s content, or playing endless hours of video games with a shifting cast of friends and strangers, or posting your own content and waiting for other kids (or strangers) to like or comment is so far from what children need that these activities should not be considered healthy new forms of adolescent interaction; they are alternatives that consume so much time that they reduce the amount of time teens spend together” (pp. 121). Not having enough “real life” experiences and in-person interactions can seriously inhibit a child’s social, emotional and cognitive development, he warns.

2. 24/7 troubling news coverage

These days, we’re barraged by frightening, often sensationalized news stories about mass shootings, wars, nuclear threats, riots, grisly homicides, economic woes, natural disasters, and on and on. That’s in big part a reflection of the increasingly perilous world (2 Timothy 3:1) we live in. But it’s also due to so many more news outlets that are broadcasting information 24/7. That includes TV news programming and podcasts, as well as what we learn about on our phones through news apps and social media feeds.

This kind of intense news coverage can leave adults feeling grieved, depressed, anxious and overwhelmed. But it’s even harder on youngsters. Depending on your kids’ ages, they may not be mature enough to process this kind of information. They may start to worry about their own safety, or that situations are worse than they really are.

Childhood should be a time of innocence. Children are not going to be able to play and enjoy themselves when they’re scared. And then with teens, when they hear about disturbing news stories, very often it’s via their phones, and their parents might not be present to help them put what they hear in perspective. They can start to obsessively worry about “adult problems,” rather than on what they should be focused on at their age—working hard at school, developing new skills, building friendships, etc.

3. Pervasive sexuality

We’re seeing concerted efforts in our society to inform children about sex and keep them preoccupied with it. For starters, consider the types of clothing that’s marketed to adolescent and even younger girls. Often girls’ clothing is way too skimpy, tight or revealing, or emblazoned with words and phrases like “Hottie,” “Sexy,” and “I know what guys want”—all of which gets kids thinking about sex when they’re still just kids.

Then there’s the sexual messaging that’s being promulgated via the media. The internet is full of pornographic websites, X-rated videos and sexually-elicit materials that can easily be accessed by anyone. Too often it’s kids who visit these sites. This exposure can lead to premature or distorted views on sexuality.

Of course, kids are not only encountering a lot of messaging about sex, but they’re increasingly hearing about aberrant sexual practices. In 2015, drag queen story hours made their debut, where men who dress and groom themselves like women, read stories to children in libraries, schools, bookstores, summer camps, and after-school programs—not exactly a wholesome way for kids to spend their time.

Meanwhile, the entertainment industry has been busily promoting “alternative” lifestyles. It’s becoming harder to find a TV series or even a children’s show that doesn’t have at least one gay character or same-sex couple in it, and those lifestyles are typically portrayed as “normal.” This kind of programming can be hard enough for adults (at least those who hold to biblical truths) to have to see, but it can be even harder for children to grapple with, and it definitely threatens their innocence.

4. Excessive pressure to excel

In our achievement-oriented culture, many parents put “adult level” pressures on their kids to be the best student, athlete, musician, etc. “As the world has grown both more competitive and more uncertain, parents have bet big on the belief that childhood success—the grades, the trophies, the resumes—is the surest, safest pathway to a secure, happy adult life,” writes Jennifer Breheny Wallace in Never Enough (Portfolio, 2023). “This wager has redefined childhood, family priorities, and the rhythm of daily life” (p. 9).

The pressure children feel may come from a parent’s hypervigilance about their grades, test scores and academic achievement—in hopes of them getting into the most prestigious schools—along with excessive criticism of their failures.

Children are being pressured to achieve in other ways too. Observes Wallace: “Sports, while always inherently competitive, are not immune to achievement creep. All-star rankings in basketball, for example, now include the top fourth graders in the nation, and semiprofessional, specialized training starts as early as six years old. Music competitions, dance competitions, arts competitions, and even high school bands have become more demanding, if not all-consuming. It’s hard to find a hobby—Minecraft, mountain biking, macrame—that can’t be turned into an exhausting pursuit of excellence . . . It’s not only that there are more areas in which a child needs to be ‘exceptional’; it’s also that the bar for what is ’exceptional’ keeps rising” (ibid, pp. 16, 48).

Realistically, kids won’t be able to have a healthy childhood if they’re under constant pressure to “be the best.” They may feel overwhelmed or stressed with all the demands placed on them. If they don’t achieve what they’re told they should—whether it’s because of inevitable setbacks or an impossibly high bar—they can develop the thinking that their personal worth depends solely on getting ahead of their peers—a mindset that will damage them into adulthood.

5. Overscheduling kids

Not only has our culture gotten more competitive, it’s also gotten busier. It just seems to have gotten into many people’s thinking that we have to constantly be on-the-go, with every hour of the day filled with some kind of activity or pursuit. This mentality has infiltrated family life. Parents often have their kids involved in so many outside activities—from dance lessons, college prep courses and junior theater, to art classes, gymnastics and martial arts training—that it totally consumes their after-school hours and weekends.

This is quite a contrast to just a couple generations ago, when kids typically spent their afternoons and weekends riding bicycles around the neighborhood with their friends, playing games in vacant lots, climbing trees, jumping rope or playing hopscotch—having their own informal fun and learning how to fill up their free time on their own. Today’s kids are involved in so many structured activities that they’re not getting enough downtime—which they need for normal development. Having downtime is important because it allows kids to step away from obligations and schoolwork so they can unwind and relax, which reduces stress.

Another problem with over scheduling is that it takes away from precious family time. Related one teenager: “About the only time I’m with my parents is when they’re rushing me to a game. Sometimes I want to talk with them about something important, but it’s hard to do that when we’re in the car, late for baseball.” Downtime provides a way to have conversations about vital life lessons, so parents can “train their children in the way they should go.”

Preserving childhood

Knowing all this, what can you do to increase the odds your children will have a normal and healthy childhood? The following five suggestions should help:

1. Stay in touch with your child’s world.

Familiarize yourself with your kids’ favorite apps and websites so you can know whether they’re being exposed to materials they shouldn’t be. If your kids have social media accounts, “friend” them so you can see their posts. This way you’ll be able to offset any harmful influences.

2. Keep the communication channels open.

When your child comes to you to talk, stop whatever you’re doing to listen. It can be helpful to set aside a regular time each day when you always talk with your children, such as during breakfast or dinner. This will help you gauge where their thinking is at, so you can steer them in a healthy direction.

3. Set limits on media usage.

Establish technology rules for how much “screen time” your children are allowed to have each day, and what media programming, games, apps and websites your kids may and may not use. Another idea is to install filtering software or parenting controls on your computers, smartphones and gaming systems to restrict your kids’ access to unhealthy programming.

4. Be willing to go against the tide.

Romans 12:2 warns against conforming “to the pattern of this world.” In today’s terms, don’t think you have to run all over town every night, transporting your children from one activity to the next, or give your preteen a smartphone, just because all the other parents are doing these things—especially if doing so takes away from family time or threatens your kids’ innocence.

5. Make God’s priorities for your children YOUR priorities.

What God wants of you as a parent is to raise godly offspring (Malachi 2:15)—in other words, children with godly character (such as what’s listed in Galatians 5:22-23). They don’t necessarily have to be in the top tier academically or receive a lot of trophies. Instead, the goal for them should simply be to do their best (Colossians 3:23, 2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Corinthians 9:24). Try to be satisfied when they’re trying hard to do something, even if they’re not going to excel at it. This will keep you from over pressuring your children.

If changes need to be made in your kids’ lives, start making the adjustments today. It’s critical that you do. It sounds cliché, but kids really do grow up very quickly. Try to make the most of each and every day you have with them while you are able. That includes doing whatever you can to ensure they don’t grow up too quickly!