Why Sadie Robertson Huff’s Family Goes ‘Screen Free’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Sadie Robertson Huff and her husband Christian are sharing some parenting tips, from handling challenging moments to the benefits of reducing screen time.
“We have, for the most part, cut off screens for our kids,” Christian said in an episode of the “WHOA That’s Good” podcast. “We’ve caved a little bit here and there.”
Sadie added, “I would say, like, 90% though: screen-free. 95% screen-free, which is a huge move for us.”
The couple shared that they made the decision after noticing screen time was changing their eldest daughter, Honey’s, temperament.
“It got to the point where I felt like the screens were affecting her behavior,” Sadie explained. “She was irritable, she was on edge.”
She continued, “The first day we did it, it was so fun and so fruitful. Because we didn’t have the screen, we had so much extra time to play….so, we are one week into screen-free, and it’s been really nice.”
Sadie and Christian then answered some questions from listeners, including listing the best and most challenging parts of being a parent and how to overcome shame.
Christian’s most challenging aspect of being a dad? “Wisdom on how to truly parent. Discernment on when to correct, when to extend grace.”
“I think the best and most challenging [thing is] when you see…they have so much of you in them,” Sadie added. “Sometimes you see the things you struggle with in them, too, and then it’s challenging because you’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t want you to go through that’…and then realizing that God placed you as their parent…you get to help guide them through.”
She continued, “It’s so important that you get yourself healthy because when you become a parent, you’re going to see your kids have so many similarities to you…and you want to be at a place in your life where you say, ‘I’ve overcome these things through Christ,’ and now I get to show them slowly but surely.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Sadie’s parenting style:
Sadie Robertson Huff joined Christian Parenting to talk about a lesson she learned after becoming a new mom.
“I put so much expectation on myself, and I realized that like God’s not disappointed in me, my baby’s not disappointed in me, I’m disappointed in myself because of my own expectations I put on myself,” Huff revealed. “I’ve tried to parent with all these other things and not just be the parent that God made me to be.”
The former DUCK DYNASTY star is mom to daughters Honey, 3, and Haven, 1, who she shares with husband, Christian.
She continued, “You know what I realized in that moment? I am the best parent to Honey in the world not because I’m the best at everything and because I’m perfect at all these things, but I’m the best parent for her because God made me her mom. That is such a beautiful gift. If God said that I’m good enough to be Honey James’ mom, then I’m the best mom for Honey James, and so that just made me so much more confident as a parent.”
When asked how to handle shame for past sins, Christian responded, “Shame is like, ‘I am bad. Who I am is bad,’ and so you have to replace that with, ‘What I do is bad, but I am forgiven. I am a child of God. I am a forgiven child of God…I am good because Christ is good in me.’”
Sadie’s “WHOA That’s Good” podcast recently won the Podcast Impact Award at this year’s K-Love Fan Awards.
“That is the goal of the podcast – that it would impact us to grow in our relationship with God and grow in wisdom!” she wrote in an Instagram post celebrating the win. “I’m beyond grateful to do what I do and can’t wait for all of the conversations to come!”
She also talked about the podcast’s impact in an interview with ChurchLeaders.
“If people listen to my podcast and receive what I receive when listening to others’ podcasts, that is so special to me,” Sadie said.
She also encouraged young people to “be the light of the world.”
“In this generation, we struggle a lot with our identity—with who we are,” Sadie explained. “And I love that that’s one place in Scripture that Jesus says, ‘You are the light of the world.’ Like that is your identity. And when you step into that, I think people are gonna be a lot more confident in who they were created to be because they’ll be living it.”