01 / 06 NEW
AI companions
AI “friends” are now the default listener for a lonely 13-year-old. We’ll show you which ones — and what to say.
2026 Edition · Once a Year ＋ Add to calendar
Raising Kids in a Digital World Workshop
It’s harder than you think — and we’re here to help.
- Saturday, October 17, 2026
- The Factory at Franklin, TN
- Capped at 200 couples
Doors open soon · first-access list forming
Hosted by Jefferson & Alyssa Bethke and Dr. Darren Whitehead
Your invite · 90 sec 0:00 / 1:30
A 90-second invite from Jeff, Alyssa & Darren. [ video slot ]
Be honest
Do you feel like you’re losing them to a screen?
Like there’s a whole world in their pocket — and you’re not in it?
Like every rule turns into a fight you’re too tired to have?
You’re not failing. The terrain changed — and nobody briefed you. That’s what this day is for.
200 couples · one room · no lectures ✓ Refreshed for 2026
The 2026 Landscape
What changed this year
Half of what you learned last year is already out of date. Here’s what’s true right now.
02 / 06 RISING
The apps that replaced the apps
Where the attention actually moved this year — and which “harmless” apps aren’t.
03 / 06 SHIFT
Middle-school currency
What status looks like in your kid’s grade this fall — so “everyone’s doing it” finally makes sense.
04 / 06 NEW
AI-generated everything
Deepfakes have reached the group chat. What’s circulating — and how to get ahead of it.
05 / 06 RISING
Vanish by default
Disappearing messages are the norm now. How to build trust that doesn’t depend on surveillance.
06 / 06 SHIFT
This year’s settings, in your hands
Every topic ends with the exact toggles, scripts, and moves that work this year.
Updated every year · because next year this list is different.
Sold in pairs, on purpose
Why both of you.
Every ticket admits two — because one aligned plan beats two half-plans.
One aligned plan
One written approach you both actually agreed to.
No weak link
When you’ve both seen the same thing, “but Dad said” stops working.
A shared reference point
“Remember what they said in Franklin” — a shared language for the hard moments.
The Day · Rough Itinerary
One day, built to catch you up.
Big-room sessions, a hands-on lab, and time as a couple. Final schedule sent before you arrive.
Morning
Arrive · See it clearly
9:00
The 2026 Landscape ALL
The world your kids actually live in — without the panic.
10:30
Inside the Apps LIVE DEMO
AI companions and this year’s apps, on screen, as kids see them.
12:00
Lunch, Together INCLUDED
Sit with couples in your kids’ exact stage.
Afternoon
Solve it · Plan it
1:00
The Settings Lab HANDS-ON
Phones out. The exact toggles, done together — not screenshots.
2:30
The Conversations COUPLES
Scripts by age for the talks you’ve been putting off.
4:00
Your Family Plan COUPLES
Your year on paper, signed by both of you. An issuance moment to close.
4:30 PM · The Signing
The moment it becomes real.
At the end of the day, the two of you sign your family’s plan — one page, one year, both names. It takes five minutes. It’s the five minutes couples talk about on the drive home.
After the signing · Included
Then we eat.
Ten minutes down the road in Leipers Fork, a long-table supper under the lights at Jeff & Alyssa’s place. No content, no agenda — just a few hundred parents who’ve stopped feeling alone in this.
Leipers Fork, Tennessee · supper included with every ticket
An annual rhythm
Come back every year.
Your kids grow. The tech shifts. The workshop updates.
Spring · Summit
The seasonal update
A virtual half-day on one frontier — this spring, social-media readiness.
Fall · The Conference
The full annual conference
The one day, in the room, both of you — the complete 2026 landscape and plan.
Every year · Repeat
Because it keeps changing
Next year’s edition is a new briefing — new apps, new pressures, new playbook.
Returning families
Once a briefing family, always a briefing family. Save [XX]%
If you came last year, you come back for less — because staying current shouldn’t cost full price every time. (TODO: set real discount.)
Your hosts
The research meets the rhythm.
The framework from The Digital Fast, and a decade of building family rhythms that actually stick — in one room, for one day.
The Expert
Dr. Darren Whitehead
Pastor · Author · Researcher
Founding pastor of Church of the City in Nashville and author of The Digital Fast. His doctoral work focused on formation in the digital age — and he brings the framework the whole briefing is built on.
The Family Builders
Jefferson & Alyssa Bethke
NYT-Bestselling Authors · Parents of 4
Authors of Take Back Your Family, Jeff and Alyssa have spent a decade helping parents build intentional homes in a noisy world — favoring rhythms over hustle, and now the Phone License framework.
“We walked in arguing about phones. We walked out with a plan we both actually believe in.”
“Our 11-year-old mentioned a chatbot I’d never heard of. Because of this day, I knew exactly what it was — and exactly what to say.”
“One Saturday cost less than one month of the counseling we were headed for. I mean that literally.”
“We drove home holding hands. That hasn’t happened in a while.”
[ Mock testimonials — swap in real couples after Edition One ]
Read this first
Who this day is for.
This is for you if…
- Your kids are 8–16 and you feel about a year behind
- You and your spouse keep having the same fight with different apps
- You want a written plan, not another podcast
- You’d rather be early than sorry
It’s not for you if…
- You’re looking for someone to blame — tech, school, your kid
- You want one more app to spy with instead of a relationship
- You’re hoping to hear “it’s not that bad”
Tickets
One day. Both of you.
Couple ticket · admits two
$499 per couple · early-bird $399
- Admits two — one aligned plan for both parents
- The full live 2026 landscape briefing
- Workbook, lunch, and the issuance ceremony
One aligned day, once a year — against twelve months of falling behind.
The Aligned Plan Guarantee
Leave with a written plan you both believe in — or don’t pay for the day. Tell us at the door on your way out and we’ll refund your ticket in full. No form, no fuss. (Pending business sign-off.)
Why only 200 couples? Because the afternoon is a lab, not a lecture. Every couple gets hands-on help with their actual phones — past 200, that breaks.
Send a couple
No parent priced out of being present.
Every year we set aside seats for couples who can’t spare $499 — funded by families who can. Not an upsell. A mission. Ask us at checkout or by email.
Good questions
Before you book.
Do we need to have taken the Phone License course first?
No. The course is day one — the phone handoff. The briefing is every year after. Plenty of families do the conference first and start the course the following week. Both stand on their own.
Why per-couple pricing? Can I come alone?
The whole point is two aligned parents. A ticket admits two, and we strongly encourage both to come. Single parents and co-parents are absolutely welcome — email us and we’ll take care of you.
Is this a faith-based event?
It’s built by people of faith and there’s an optional spiritual thread, but the landscape, tools, and plan are for every family. You will not feel out of place, whatever you believe.
What’s included in the ticket?
The full day for two, the printed workbook, the hands-on settings lab, your drafted family agreement, lunch, and the closing issuance ceremony. You leave with a plan, not just notes. (Supper + guarantee pending business sign-off.)
What if we can’t make it after we buy?
Full refund up to 30 days out. After that, your ticket transfers to another couple or rolls to next year’s edition — no fuss.
Franklin, TN · October 17, 2026
Get a year ahead — together.
Doors open in July. Join the first-access list and you’ll hear before anyone else — at the early-bird rate.
The course is day one · this is every year after