A Resource Every Local Parent Should Know: nextTalk
As parents, we do so much to protect our kids.
We set screen-time limits. We research parental controls. We delay phones and social media. We monitor apps, set boundaries and try our best to put guardrails around what our children can access.
Those things matter.
But one of the biggest things I’ve learned as a mom is that we can't control everything our kids will eventually be exposed to.
A friend may show them something. They may hear a word on the playground. An inappropriate video may pop up. They may encounter something online at someone else's house. And sometimes, despite every safeguard we've put in place, something gets through.
That's why I have found the message and resources from nextTalk so helpful.
The Goal Isn't Just Protection—It's Conversation
nextTalk is a San Antonio-based nonprofit helping families navigate parenting in an increasingly digital and overexposed world.
Their philosophy is something that has really stuck with me:
“You can delay the phone, but you cannot delay the conversations.”
Rules and restrictions are important, but nextTalk emphasizes that our relationship with our children matters, too. Their resources help parents think beyond simply blocking inappropriate content and start building open communication before difficult situations arise.
That has changed the way I think about protecting my own kids.
Of course I want guardrails. Of course I want to protect their innocence for as long as I reasonably can. But I also want to prepare for the moment when a guardrail doesn't work—or when exposure happens somewhere I can't control.
Because then the question becomes:
Will my child feel comfortable coming to me?
What Happens After They See Something?
This is where nextTalk has been especially helpful to me.
Instead of assuming we can prevent our children from ever encountering difficult things, Mandy Majors and the nextTalk team help parents learn how to create an ongoing culture of communication.
One of their recurring ideas is becoming a safe place for your kids—the person they know they can come to when something awkward, scary or inappropriate happens.
That means how we react to the little conversations today matters.
If our child tells us something shocking and our first reaction is panic, anger or shame, will they tell us the next time?
That's a question I've really taken to heart.
I want my kids to know that when they see something confusing, hear something inappropriate, make a mistake or encounter something they're not sure how to process, Mom and Dad are where they can come first.
We can talk about it.
We can help them understand it.
We can point them toward truth.
And we can walk through it together.
So Many FREE Resources for Parents
One of the best things about nextTalk is how much information they make available to families for free.
🎧 The nextTalk Podcast
Mandy hosts conversations about parenting, technology, culture and faith, with a huge library of episodes parents can search based on whatever they're currently navigating.
Listen here:
https://nexttalk.org/podcast/
Topics include:
📱 When and how to introduce a phone
📃 Phone contracts and boundaries
💬 Social media
🎮 Online gaming
⏰ Screen time and reducing screen dependence
❤️ Building trust with your children
🗣️ Getting kids to keep talking to you
👥 Risky friendships
🚫 Pornography and sexualized content
🧠 Mental health and changes in your child's behavior
📲 Online dangers and cyberstrangers
💔 Bullying and cyberbullying
🙏 Faith and parenting
🌎 Talking to kids about difficult things happening in our culture
👨👩👧 Navigating different ages and stages
A great place to start is their episode “Build a Safe Place,” which focuses on becoming the person your child trusts with their biggest questions and hardest moments:
https://nexttalk.org/podcast_episode/build-a-safe-place/
They also have an episode featuring Mandy's son called “Why Kids Stop Talking to Their Parents: A Son's Honest Advice.” Hearing these conversations from the child's perspective can be incredibly helpful:
https://nexttalk.org/podcast_episode/why-kids-stop-talking-to-their-parents-a-sons-honest-advice/
Free Guides for Some of the Really Hard Conversations
I especially appreciate that nextTalk doesn't shy away from the subjects we sometimes wish we didn't have to discuss.
For example, they have free printable resources specifically for parents navigating pornography exposure.
If your child was exposed to pornography and came to you about it, nextTalk has a free faith-based guide to help you think through what to do next:
https://nexttalk.org/porn-packet-my-kid-was-exposed-to-porn-and-confided-in-me-now-what/
They also have a separate free guide for the situation where you discover your child saw pornography but didn't tell you:
https://nexttalk.org/porn-packet-my-kid-saw-porn-and-didnt-tell-me-now-what/
These are conversations none of us necessarily want to have, especially when our children are young. But that's exactly why I appreciate having resources available before I'm standing in the middle of one of those moments wondering what to say.
You Can Actually Ask Them a Parenting Question
This is another resource I think local families should know about.
If you're dealing with a specific situation—maybe you're wondering how to talk to your child about sex, struggling with Instagram or another app, or simply don't know how to start a difficult conversation—you can submit a parenting question directly to nextTalk.
They also offer prayer requests and, for Texas families experiencing financial hardship, an application for reduced-fee counseling with licensed Texas counselors.
Find those resources here:
Start Before They Have a Phone
You don't have to wait until your child has a smartphone.
You don't have to wait until they're a teenager.
And you definitely don't have to have every answer figured out.
What I've personally taken away from nextTalk is that protecting our kids isn't only about building higher walls around them.
It's also about building a stronger relationship with them.
Put the guardrails in place.
Set the boundaries.
Protect them where you can.
But also start talking.
Ask questions. Listen. Try not to panic when they tell you something uncomfortable. Let the little conversations happening today build the trust you'll need for the bigger conversations tomorrow.
Because eventually our kids are going to encounter things we wish they hadn't.
And when that happens, one of the greatest safeguards we can give them may be knowing:
“I can talk to my parents about this.”
Explore nextTalk
🌐 Website + Free Resources:
https://nexttalk.org/
🎧 Podcast:
https://nexttalk.org/podcast/
❤️ Parent Questions, Prayer + Counseling Resources:
https://nexttalk.org/help/
nextTalk is based right here in the San Antonio area, making this an especially valuable resource for families in Boerne and throughout the Hill Country.
— Saige, Boerne Love
Love where you live. Love your people well. ❤️
