During an appearance on American Family Radio (AFR), Dr. Renton Rathbun, host of “The Renton Rathbun Show,” said there are two things that parents can do for their children.
"First, I would look at the entertainment. I would look at how you use technology, and I would even say, 'How do I, the parent, use technology, and how am I modeling to my kids on how I want them to use technology?'” asks Rathbun. “Do I want them staring at their phone on family movie night? Do I want them staring at the phone at the table? Then I shouldn't be doing that."
The second thing parents can do is to ask themselves questions such as, “How are my kids being educated?”
Education Week wrote in October 2025 about the rising use of AI in schools and the downsides for students. They reported that the Center for Democracy and Technology released a study that revealed 86% of students used AI in the 2024-2025 school year. Furthermore, 70% of teachers worry that AI is hindering a student’s critical thinking and research skills while 50% of parents are concerned about a decrease in peer-to-peer connections.
"I would have a lot of questions: How are you going to deal with AI? How are you going to keep them from just doing the homework on their phone? And how are you going to teach my kid how to think?” asks Rathbun. “What's the necessary components you have to make this happen?"
It may be that a child's school has a plan or policy for this issue. If that is the case, Rathbun recommended parents ask the school for that information.
"If they don't have any of that, I would be alarmed. I would start thinking about homeschooling. I would start thinking, 'How important is the future of my child? Is school really just designed to get them out of the way so I can go to work? Or is this going to really change them?'" he said.
Rathbun concludes by saying if there are people who believe that education changes children, then parents need to be deeply involved in what kind of education their child is getting.
