The Sandlot Solution
“You’re killing me, Smalls!” I grew up watching The Sandlot, which is easily one of the most oft-quoted movies among my friends and now my kids. It reminds me of the magic of a childhood spent outdoors—pick-up baseball games, daring adventures, and friendships forged through scraped knees and summer mischief. The boys in The Sandlot were unsupervised, unscheduled, and unglued to screens. They roamed free, made mistakes, and learned how to get into and out of trouble. Fast forward to today, and childhood looks very different. Instead of playing outside until the streetlights come on, many children are glued to their phones, endlessly scrolling social media, carefully curating their online personas, and avoiding real-world challenges. In The Anxious Generation[1], Jonathan Haidt argues that this shift, what he calls the “Great Rewiring,” has fundamentally altered childhood, leading to skyrocketing anxiety, depression, and social fragility. This article will explore one key insight from Haidt’s research: Children need real-world challenges to develop resilience (antifragility). I will also consider one shortfall in Haidt’s approach.
A Fragile Situation
Haidt states, “Play is the work of childhood, and all young mammals have the same job: Wire up your brain by playing vigorously.”[2] He argues that children today are not exposed to enough real-world challenges due to overprotection, the decline of free play, and the dominance of screens. This has led to increased anxiety, depression, and social fragility, leading to children being more easily overwhelmed because they have not built the psychological “muscles” needed to handle adversity. This aligns with Nassim Taleb’s research on antifragility. Taleb shows that systems (including humans) become stronger when exposed to stress in the proper doses.[3] According to Haidt and Taleb, children should engage in unstructured, risky play (e.g., climbing trees, resolving peer conflicts) because these small struggles build their ability to handle more considerable challenges later in life. Instead, modern parenting and digital culture tend to shield children from adversity, making them more fragile. According to Haidt, if we want to reverse the mental health crisis, we must restore real-world experiences and structured challenges in childhood. This means less screen time, more autonomy, and a return to hands-on engagement through outdoor play, responsibility-building tasks, and opportunities for resilience.
An Awe-ful Shortfall
“You stir man to take pleasure in praising you because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”[4] In this sentence, Augustine announces the central theme of his work in Confessions, which is also a core challenge in the human experience–the struggle to flourish apart from God. Haidt references the concept of the “God-shaped hole and identifies a universal emptiness felt by individuals.[5] As an atheist, Haidt appears to be treating the symptoms without understanding the root cause when it comes to the mental health epidemic. If you treat only the symptoms, the issues will recur without addressing what must change.
Withering entered the world the moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Their temptation was rooted in the belief that they no longer needed God—they could be their own authority. They sought self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and security apart from Him, but in doing so, they lost their true identity. Separated from God, the source of their identity, security, and flourishing, they were cast into the wilderness—the land of withering. From that moment on, humanity followed the same pattern, pursuing independence and isolation, resulting in the mental health epidemic of today. 
Throughout the texts examined in this essay, one truth remains constant: Proximity to God brings flourishing, while separation from Him leads to withering. In the New Testament, it becomes clear that closeness to God is found in Jesus Christ. Life with Christ is meant to be lived in a community shaped by His love and way of life. In the accounts of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, the devil urges Him to reject the Father and rely on Himself. Yet, after overcoming temptation, Jesus begins building His community by calling His first disciples. Inviting them to a life of proximity, abiding in him.[6]
I agree with Haidt that children need to return to a “discover mode” kind of life filled with real challenges, real risks, and real relationships. However, unlike Haidt, I believe this is only truly accomplished through the redemptive and restorative work of Jesus Christ and in the context of a community shaped by the Gospel and led by the Holy Spirit. Humans are designed for deep communion, but sin leads to fragile dependence on artificial comforts, distracting us from true flourishing.
Practically speaking
While Haidt suggests some practical steps for parents, educators, and communities to consider like cutting screen time, fostering independence, and creating environments where kids can develop true antifragility. In his book, The Tech-Wise Family[7], Andy Crouch offers a compelling and Christ-conscious approach to the same challenges Haidt addresses. Crouch’s approach comprises three choices that shape ten commitments for wise screen stewardship. Below is a summation, which he addresses in greater detail throughout his book.
Three Choices:
Choose Character
Shape Space
Structure Time
Ten Commitments:
- Develop wisdom and courage together within a community (family).
- Create more than you consume.
- Maintain God’s rhythm of work and rest.
- Wake up before your devices do, and your devices go to bed before you do.
- Aim for no screens before double digits at school and home.
- Use screens for a purpose, and use them together.
- Car time is conversation time.
- Spouses have one another’s passwords, and parents have total access.
- Sing together, rather than amplified in-ear music taking over our lives and worship.
- Show up in person, rather than online for big events of life and worship.
Conclusion
To raise confident and capable kids, we need to reclaim the spirit of The Sandlot—a world where children take risks, solve their own problems, and develop resilience through real-life experiences instead of filtered digital ones. However, without a healthy community and a connection to their Creator, we are only addressing the symptoms rather than the root cause.
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[1] Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, (New York: Penguin Press, 2024).
[2] Ibid., 51.
[3] Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder, (New York: Random House, 2014), 32.
[4] Sainte Augustine, Confessions, Translated by Henry Chadwick, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 3.
[5] Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation, 215.
[6] Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13.
[7] Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2017), 38-42.
About the Author
Chad Warren
A husband, father, pastor, teacher, and student seeking to help others flourish.5 responses to “The Sandlot Solution”
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Hi Chad, Great post. I appreciate your reference to “The Sandlot.” Because of that movie, I was never tempted to try chewing tobacco and get on a carnival ride. I also appreciate your thoughts concerning our need for redemption through Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, we are very good at treating symptoms rather than the root cause. While reflecting on the book, I couldn’t help but think that the rewiring of childhood was inevitable because of new technology we had never possessed before. One author I read mentioned how the introduction of cars did the same thing. We didn’t anticipate the consequences car culture would cause. It seems like we are always playing catch-up! Knowing the harmful impact of excessive digital use and people’s need for God’s redemption, what proactive steps can the church take to equip families and young people to better navigate our digital world?
Chad,
I also appreciate the Sandlot reference and this is where I think I first began to think about going into EMS so that I also could do mouth to mouth. I love the pastoral voice that comes through your blog on this. Are there specific ways you are trying to tame technology right now at your church? It seems like every time technology brings us something new and exciting it also replaces something tangible that isn’t always good to lose.
Chad,
Thanks for the post. I appreciate the ten commitments. I really like number 7 – car time is conversation time. We just did a family get away last weekend with our 4 adult children. Much of the time traveling was spent on their phones. Outside of the vehicle we engaged in great conversations and played board and card games. Growing up though our car trips are something to which I looked forward. We did not have a DVD player, instead our radio blared the songs from the latest VBS they attended, Adventure in Odyssey CD’s, books on CD. My kids often read books on trips as well. We sang, laughed and talked. One of our longest trips was back in 2012. We loaded up our Minivan and drove from NE Ohio to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD in 90 degree plus heat with no AC.
Here are some questions with I assume no theological importance, but since you discussed Adam and Eve, I’ll play the role of the little kid in your church that asks all sorts of questions.
What types of play/games do you imagine Cain and Abel engaged in.
Did Adam and Eve know how to engage in play?
Did God teach them to play?
Chad, I’m not expecting a reply to this. Just something to consider as we focus on the importance of play.
Jeff,
Adam and Eve knew how to play hide and seek!
Hi Chad, Thanks for introducing me to Crouch’s book. I’m curious if you have tried any of these commitment with your family? If so, what did you find to be easier and what was more difficult than expected to implement?