A lot of the parents I meet and work with tell me they feel not just overwhelmed by parenting in the digital age, but also helpless and hopeless. There is this pervasive feeling that the problem is too big, that we have no say and very little control over how technology modifies our children’s lives. I too slip into this feeling, but I want to share with you the amazing people and organizations that fuel my hope and my resolve that the internet can and will become a better place for kids to inhabit in the future. Let’s take a look…

Many girls as young as 9 years old have become obsessed with expensive skin care routines originating from social media trends. If you have a daughter who fits this description you are not alone! The hashtag #tweenskincare has over 49.5 million views on TikTok. But, is this trend healthy and safe for young girls? I did a little research into this trend and found 3 reasons why it may not be a trend we want to encourage in young girls…

Once our kids leave for college, what they do with their technology is mostly out of our hands, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t prepare them to make healthy choices once no one is there to oversee them.  Don’t forget, that prefrontal cortex isn’t done developing until age 25! So while they may seem all grown up, they are in fact still growing and therefore still more susceptible to the magnetic pull of the online world. Here are my top tips for prepping your college freshman to be digitally well in college.

We’ve heard it a million times, sleep is critical for our mental and physical wellbeing. Yet the latest research shows that sleep quality and quantity has been steadily decreasing over the past 10-15 years and it seems sleep still isn’t getting the respect that it deserves.Unfortunately, it seems our kids tech use plays a big role in this issue. In this article I want to share with you information on how much sleep our kids should be getting at different ages and stages along with some tips on how to help them get there.

If you are a parent who will have your kids at home for extended periods of time this summer you are likely stressed out about how to manage screen use during these long summer days. But, with a little bit of forethought and planning you can come up with a summertime screen time solution that keeps kids from overloading on what I call “junk food screen time” and doesn’t force you to become your child’s personal camp counselor!

Check out this wonderful collaboration I did with Taming Gaming to create a list of the best video games (some you’ve definitely never heard of) to support healthy risk taking in our kids. You’ll be tempted to try some of these games yourself ; )

Finally a first phone option I can honestly get behind! Meet Pinwheel. Pinwheel is a smartphone designed for kids by parents who weren’t happy with the tech options already out there. The Pinwheel phone is more than just a smartphone, it’s a tool created to help support you and your family introduce technology to your kids and teens in a healthy, non-addictive way.

When we were teenagers buying drugs meant venturing into uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situations - a natural deterrent. But these days, with social media acting as the intermediary, getting drugs is as easy as 1-2-3. Let’s look at where/how kids are getting a hold of drugs and how we as parents can help keep them safe.