What’s the Best Age to Give My Teen a Smartphone? Finally, a simple answer that makes perfect sense. by Melanie Hempe, BSN If you’re looking for confirmation that smartphones and social media are good for your kids, this is not one of those posts. The “best age” question is a trick question. Here’s why.…
A Real Life: What Childhood Once Was and Still Should Be by Dawn Poulterer Woods, ScreenStrong Ambassador In days with lots of words and opinions, I have felt highly unmotivated to post thoughts on any digital platform. But this poem came to me yesterday in a matter of 20 minutes. I write it for parents of…
A Call to Parents: The Screen Effect By Jennifer Ruisch, screenwriter & ScreenStrong Ambassador The great experiment is underway. An entire generation of kids and teens are now using screens in their free time to watch funny videos, play games and connect with friends. And now, thanks to Covid-19, they’re also being educated entirely…
How Fortnite Makes Your Son Aggressive Three reasons his “harmless game” may be making him mean. By Melanie Hempe, BSN, Founder of ScreenStrong Note: This piece was written with boys in mind, however, girls have struggles with video games too. Many parents think it’s an overreaction to believe violent video games make kids violent.…
Sleepovers: Should Parents Allow Them? Three things to consider before your kids pack that sleepover bag. By Melanie Hempe, BSN, Founder of ScreenStrong You’re probably not planning to allow your kids’ friends to introduce them to porn or graphic violence this summer. But if they’re heading elsewhere for a sleepover, that just might be…
The Video Game Addiction Test How to know if your child is developing an unhealthy dependency. Video game dependency is a serious issue. Not only does it lead to mental and physical health problems, but it can slowly replace all other important interests and activities in a child’s real life like sports, school, friendships and…
New film, Screened Out, explores how we can regain control of our screen time. We spend time looking at screens for work, for social connection, and for relaxation so much so that screen time that it seems to suck up most of our day. Some mobile devices even provide a weekly screen time report to…
Spoiler Alert: Your Child is Not a Virtual Angel Tips on how parents can avoid blind spots when it comes to kids and screens. By Melanie Hempe, BSN, Founder of ScreenStrong For good reason, parents think the best of their children. Parents unconditionally love their kids and, while that helps our children’s development thrive, it…
5 Reasons to Disable Your Teen’s Smartphone Why quarantine is the perfect time to wean your teen off her smartphone. By Melanie Hempe, BSN, Founder of ScreenStrong My teenager just woke up, walked into the kitchen, and said, “Mom, what day is it?” The days are running together, kids are staying up too late,…
5 Reasons to Uninstall Video Games Is your son binging on video games during the quarantine? Here’s why it’s okay to take the games away. By Melanie Hempe, BSN, Founder of ScreenStrong Let’s admit it, sometimes we let the kids splurge. Maybe it’s a cookie before mealtime, an extra piece of cake on their…