Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Recently, the New York Post reported on the rise of digital detox camps where worried parents hire experts at up to $8,000 a session to help their children be less addicted to their screens. Now, the kids hate it.

As one founder described in a related wire article, campers experience actual withdrawal

symptoms, some stash extra phones in their backpacks, others even run away to avoid being

separated from their devices. The popularity of these detox camps relates curiously to another emerging trend,

kid concierge services.

Parents pay hundreds of dollars for so-called professionals to teach their children how to organize their backpacks,

how to throw a ball, how to ride a bike.

Apparently, the new gig economy includes gig parenting. Now, of course,

there are many instances in which professionals are needed for overwhelmed parents, and many

students need serious help with screen addiction. Still, at least in general, shouldn't parents

be the ones who are saying no to unlimited screens? Shouldn't they be doing the hard work of

training their kids to perform the

everyday mundane tasks of life? Saying no to kids, throwing a ball with them, limiting video

games until their room is clean. These are all normal and natural responsibilities of being

a parent. Are more parents convinced they can't do these things? Even worse, are they now sure

that they shouldn't have to do such

things? Part of the answer here lies in what Thomas Aquinas described as the order of loves. God

created us to love him and to love others. Our highest love and loyalty are intended for God

himself, followed by those closest to us, especially kids and family and then neighbors and

then the wider world. This order reflects how God created the world, how he intended his image

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