BY INEZ KIRCHNER
B E A CON W R I T E R
parenting
in the
digital
world:
“At that moment, I froze.” That’s the
reaction Mandy Majors, Founder and
Executive Director of nextTalk, had
when her daughter asked her a highly
sexualized question. It wasn’t “where
do babies come from?” either. Another
student had exposed her daughter to
graphic sexual details at the school
lunch table. Mandy felt ill equipped to
respond. Her daughter was only nine
years old.
Fielding this type of question was
new territory and a pivotal moment for
the stay-at-home mom. Mandy was
desperate to protect and save her kids
from a new digital world of which she
knew little. She set out to find answers.
For
“We’re the first generation to
Mandy Majors and Kim Elerick, Hosts of nextTalk radio.
navigate parenting in the digital world
and the dangers that come with it,”
says Mandy. Her search for a solution
led to nextTalk. Its mission: helping
parents keep kids safe online through
open communication at home.
Mandy decided to form a church
group raising awareness and offering
support to other parents who were
feeling lost. The need was obvious—20
members quickly grew to 200. In 2016,
Mandy and five other families formed
nextTalk. In 2017, Mandy released her
book, Talk: A Practical Approach to
Cyberparenting and Open Communication.
On Amazon, almost all of the
dozens of reviews give it five stars.
Since then, nextTalk has launched
speaking tours, radio podcasts, and a
nine-week video series curriculum.
Their message has reached people in
24 countries worldwide.
The need was obvious—
20 members quickly grew to 200.
According to Mandy, access to
smart devices and the internet is
exposing kids to sex and
dangerous encounters much
earlier—sometimes at four
and five years old. “Sex
traffickers are literally a click
away, posing and interacting
as other children,” says
Mandy.
Mandy found the solution
she was looking for in
Deuteronomy 6:6-7. The
16 www.saBeacon.com May / June 2019