Parents today face many obstacles to raising their children in a values-aligned way. A lack of transparency from schools, state and federal government edicts undermining safety, an endless stream of garbage from big tech and entertainment, and a culture that believes moms and dads don't know what's best for their families are just a few reasons parents are justified in worrying whether they're staying ahead of the curve to protect their children.
With so much happening, parents face an uphill battle to ensure they are aware of and prepared to handle each new development. Now, there's a new tool to help parents stay informed and prepare them to have important discussions with their children — as well as schools, doctors, and other entities competing for authority in their kids' lives.
Created by the American Parents Coalition (APC), a new parental notification system called The Lookout will provide parents — via text message alerts — with information on emerging issues or content kids are being exposed to online, at school, and in their communities — along with helpful tips geared toward parents to help them navigate the latest issues with their children.
Subjects for The Lookout will include news parents need to know, stories that aren't getting the coverage they deserve, and breaking updates as they develop — all straight to their phones so busy parents don't have to worry about missing a story on the news they don't have time to watch or a lengthy article they don't have time to read.
In its first installment — previewed exclusively by Townhall — The Lookout dives into recent Scholastic Book Fair events, ubiquitous for students nationwide, even those at private or religious schools. Specifically, the fact that children at some schools were being sent home with a promotional flyer containing a "Read with Pride Resource Guide" highlighting "LGBTQIA+ children's and young adult" books.
In addition to a concise summary of the flyer and Scholastic's "Read with Pride" program, The Lookout has helpful tips for parents to screen what their children are reading and check with their school administrators. Other quick bites of news geared toward parents include an update on the Biden administration's gutting of Title IX protections for women and girls, state-level legislative efforts surrounding transgender surgeries for kids, and a medical study on the irreversible effects of puberty blockers.
Speaking with Townhall just before the launch of The Lookout, APC Executive Director Alleigh Marré shared how she realized problems stemming from the ongoing assault on parental rights "don't stop when kids leave their school."
"We've seen a very fast change in the post-COVID world," Marré emphasized of the push to keep parents in the dark about the ideas, values, and topics their children are exposed to at seemingly every turn.
From "curriculum, discipline policies, the move away from meritocracy, all the bathroom stuff — the merging of spaces that had previously been just reserved for females" to the "broad move to remove parents from minor healthcare-related decisions" and a surge of "content in TV shows, movies, and the never-ending algorithms of big tech and social media," there's a mountain of information for parents to consume, distill, and turn into action that's right for their children. As Townhall reported previously, APC launched in March with a seven-figure ad buy on a campaign warning parents that "TikTok is Poison."
Marré, as both an advocate through APC and a parent to three children of her own, sought a way to address these "seismic shifts" after realizing parents were missing a way to learn about these issues and know what's going on in the world as it relates to parents — and The Lookout was born.
Previewing future installments, Marré said The Lookout would ensure parents are aware of stories or issues they "may not get via legacy of mainstream news sources" and be able to learn about them in "understandable chunks for someone who's checking text messages between soccer practice and school drop-off."
"We might not be able to fix it today," Marré explained of the information contained in The Lookout, "but here are some things that you as a parent can do if this is of concern to you to make sure that you have a better understanding. Here are ways that you can research this quickly and find some stuff that maybe you weren't thinking of, or just weren't doing before, or didn't think you had to do."
"It's that careful balance of you being the one to introduce it in the context of your values, but on your own terms," Marré emphasized of the litany of controversial topics facing children. "That, I think, is probably the biggest challenge that parents face today — they're robbed of the opportunity to have these conversations in line with their own family values — regardless of where you stand on it."
"It's always someone else who's introducing these controversial topics to your kids and it shouldn't be that way," Marré added.
Teasing more resources to come with each notification from The Lookout, Marré said APC's goal is to become "something that parents rely on for parent-child and family-centric news,” including more guides for parents to have important conversations both with their children and their schools or other entities.