This is a recorded X (formerly Twitter) Space with Harrison from Save Your Sons. Harrison has started to create wholesome entertainment for his own children, and we talked about his motivations and process.
We also talked about the new streaming service preparing to launch called Sherwood Entertainment. Right now, you can get lifetime access for a one-time price of $299. However, you can get $100 off by using the code “Franklin” during checkout. (I personally know the people involved and have an affiliate relationship with them.)
Lifetime access to wholesome content, which will include classic cartoons like Mighty Mouse and Superman, along with a huge library of audiobooks.
Some of the highlights from the episode:
We discount the role media plays in our reality. This is especially true for kids when their brains and personalities are malleable. What they watch, what they listen to, what they read will shape them for the rest of their lives. Media can give you a warped sense of what is healthy and what is good. Fathers are the first line of defense.
Media has always been bad in some way, but it’s gotten worse. Over-stimulation, quick cuts, no time to breath. A lot of times, it seems like its a drug meant to induce ADD. And that’s before we even get to the content. Hidden messaging. Propaganda. Nowadays, it’s not even subtext. They want to beat us over the head with their vision of the world.
The good things that media and entertainment can provide. The power of imagination. You have to be able to imagine a future and reverse engineer that future to start building it. Stories play an important role in this. You can’t just eliminate the bad. You have to provide something that is good.
When you start creating stories, focus on creating them for one person. C.S. Lewis did this with Chronicles of Narnia. He started writing the first one for his goddaughter. Create what your children will like and what you want them to consume. You’ll naturally fill a need for others as well. It will also come across as more personal and emotionally resonant.
It’s impossible to insulate kids from all entertainment. They will be exposed to something by friends or by grandparents or by a TV at a restaurant. Better to teach them discernment and train their filter. You can’t avoid the water. They have to be able to swim. Actively consume things with your kids and talk with them about it, especially at the end, but also in the middle. Pause it and ask questions.
Imitation is becoming. Kids need pictures of heroes to which they can aspire. They are begging for examples. They will latch on to good examples or bad examples. There is no neutrality. Parents are the main influence and example, but there has to be some standard outside of themselves that everyone is striving for.
You can find Save Your Sons on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
His podcast for children, Froggy the Gator, can be found wherever you normally listen to podcasts. The most popular episodes are:
How Stories and Entertainment Shape Our Children