Are you stressed out about your teen’s or tween’s online life? Have recent discussions of banning social media until age 16 making you feel like a horrible parent? Are you constantly fighting over screentime with them?

Parenting is 1,000 times more stressful today than it was for our parents thanks to smart phones and social media.

And it certainly doesn’t help when there seems to be a new study or new book published weekly talking about how phones and social media are responsible for the decline in adolescent mental health.

What are you supposed to do as a parent? How do you make decisions about these issues for your teen and your family?

Join me today as I put things in perspective and give you some advice that will not only calm your nerves but help you manage these issues more realistically (and without the guilt).

Access TRANSCRIPT here.

Episodes mentioned:

Episode 55 (parental controls alone are worse for your teen)

Episode 144 (Emily Cherkin, author of The Screentime Solution)

Sources, Resources, and Mentions:

The Anxious Generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness (J. Heidt)

Screenwise and Growing Up in Public (D. Heitner)

How Social Media Effects Teen Mental Health: A Missing Link (science journal article)

The Great Rewiring Unplugged: Is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness (science journal article)

Disconnection More Problematic for Adolescent Self-Esteem than Heavy Social Media Use (science journal article)

Should I Spy on My Kid’s Phone? Mentoring vs Monitoring Kids on Social Media (D. Heitner)

Screentime is Dumb (Substack article on The Examined Family about Richard Culatta)

Active versus Passive Screen Time (edsurge article)

Social Media and Youth Mental Health (Surgeon General)

Health Advisory on Social Media Use in Adolescence (American Psychological Association)

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