We often hear parents say, “I wish I would have known _____.” And that is exactly why our new Plugged-in Planner series begins with a focus on preschool-aged kids. It’s never too early to start preparing the foundation for digital health in your home.

Kids are always paying attention, absorbing the behaviors they see modeled in the world. Monkey see? Monkey do. They are internalizing our habits, practices and beliefs through our behaviors — including what we do and don’t post on social media (aka. sharenting).

Few thoughts are as daunting to parents as the prevalence of pornography and predators in the lives of our children. While we’d like to think porn only lives in hard-to-reach corners of the internet, the reality is it’s only a few clicks away. According to Defend Young Minds, the average age of first porn exposure is nine years old.

When Cierra Karson found her preschool daughter saying her daily affirmations in the mirror, it made her cry happy tears, because she knew that one day, this little girl would have the confidence she needs to navigate the challenges she will face in the social media world. Read along as Cierra shares why and how this young family makes this practice a part of their everyday routine.

During this time when kids are likely on screens longer and with less supervision, they are more likely to accidentally stumble onto unsavory content.  If you haven’t yet installed filters and controls on your child’s devices, now is a great time. Here are a few ideas to help your family navigate the internet with a safety net.

As schools are out and families are stuck in, it’s creating a lot of change in routine and isolation. One idea for maintaining relational connection and consistency for our kids? Consider doing a facetime playdate! For many working professionals, a “virtual coffee” is a well-established way to connect with colleagues in other offices – to maintain connection though you can’t be together. Let’s try these for our kids!

If visions of smartphones are dancing through your child’s head this holiday season, you are not alone! But before you buy, we want to encourage you that there is a growing market of alternative products to consider. There are lots of choices—here are just a few options to kickstart your research!

We often get asked what makes START special. Our answer? The way our community has pressed in and grabbed hold of our vision: to raise kids be captivated by life, not screens. Last night, we got to see that vision come to life in a magical way, when we linked arms with an awesome local nonprofit, Kindcraft.

When you feel like your kids know more about tech than you do, it can be easy to throw your hands in the air and give up on digital parenting. But we want to encourage you that you might know more than you think about technology. Just ask these preschoolers!

Neurotherapist Susan Dunaway shares that over and over, parents come to her with the same plea for help: “Our kids are great kids, but it seems all their worst behaviors come out when we tell them it’s time to get off their screens. What do we do?” Check out her suggestions for helping your child stay in control when it’s time to hop off the screen time merry-go-round!