About us
We're on the side of childhood.
Wild in Training makes short, animated, research-based Reels for parents about kids, childhood, and the phone question. Wild Not Wired is where those videos turn into something you can actually do at your kitchen table.
followers on Instagram, and growing.
views on our Reel "Nobody Meant for This to Happen."
Animated, research-based, and made for parents who are short on time and long on love.
The story
Why a cartoon family?
The research about kids and screens matters. But most of it is buried in long papers or turned into scary headlines, and neither one helps at 7 p.m. when your kid asks for a phone. Parents don't need more guilt. They need the short version, told with warmth, and a next step.
So we animate it. A family you'll start to recognize: a mom, a dad, a son and a daughter, working through the same questions you are. Sixty seconds at a time, with the sources listed, and always ending on hope.
Why Wild Not Wired
When "Nobody Meant for This to Happen" reached 6.2 million views, it was clear we weren't the only ones asking these questions. Lots of parents feel the same pull: they want to wait on the smartphone, and they don't want their kid to be the only one waiting.
Wild Not Wired is our answer. It's not a list of rules or a lecture about screen time. It's a movement of families saying yes to play first: long afternoons, muddy shoes, real friends, and enough sleep. The phone can come later, on purpose, with a plan.
The manifesto
What we believe
- We say yes to play: long afternoons, muddy shoes, and friends they see face to face.
- Childhood happens now, and the phone can happily wait for later.
- No family should have to wait alone, so we start by asking one other family.
You're not saying no. You're saying yes to everything else first.
Behind the Reels
Meet Wil
Hi, I'm Wil, a husband, a dad of two girls, and the founder of Wild in Training.
By day I work at a children's hospital as a bridge between technology and the nurses and physicians who use it. My job is to translate the tech into plain language, so the people caring for kids can make good decisions quickly.
At home, I realized parents need that same bridge. My wife and I are raising our daughters in a world that looks nothing like the one we grew up in. Kids get screens earlier than ever, and the apps are built to keep them there. Most of us are figuring it out as we go.
So I started Wild in Training to do for families what I do at work. I turn the research on how technology affects growing kids into short, animated videos parents can actually use. My goal isn't to make anyone feel guilty. It's to help families make clear, confident choices together, so kids get more play, more sleep, more real friends, and the freedom to just be kids.
Play first. Phone later.
Stay Wild. Stay Curious.
How we talk about research
We say "linked" and "odds," not "causes." The science on kids and phones is still being argued about, and we'd rather be honest than loud. Every Reel is built on sources you can check, including the people who disagree.