It was devastating… But in the aftermath, my wife and I began to look at our kids’ digital lives in the face, and come to grips with a truth: We will never be experts in this part of parenting. We will never be one step ahead of this game. But admitting so to our kids has actually built a bridge we are hoping will last…
Not sure whether or not your kid is online at night? In this study, an astonishing 80% of both boys and girls admitted to being frequent vampers at least sometime during high school. They spent an average of 1-2 hours per night awake while their parents thought they were asleep.
So often when we talk about social media, mental health, and kids, we tend to think the only thing affecting today’s teens is how they interact with other teens. But Lauri, a START parent, recently shared with her community, “I’m learning from my little guys that the pressures don’t only come from their friends; it can also come from me as a parent. And it starts way earlier than I was hoping.” To learn more about the trend of sharenting, check out this this article
As a School Resource Officer, Dan Reedy has a vested interested in the impact of screens on our youth— not only for their physical safety, but also their mental and emotional well-being.
Two weeks ago, we shared the story of a family who put their daughter’s phone to bed, and it lifted a huge weight off of her shoulders. It turns out, her story resonated with hearts around the globe. In two weeks, nearly two million people have read it, in more than 160 countries. Parents around the world are struggling, wanting to give their kids healthier, happier lives.
At START, we are passionate about equipping parents with the language they need to engage with their kids’ tech lives. Read more about our word of the week, vamping, in this New York Times article…and then try using it with your kids!
Tim DeWeese, Mental Health Director for Johnson County, weighs in about the importance of developing a healhty tech-life balance for ourselves, and then modeling those healthy tech habits for young people.
When I find them in the morning, still asleep, with a device in their hands, the truth is, I have no idea where they have been or who they have been with all night. It is like I am inviting the darkness of the streets into their own room—and the darkness is actually more aggressive than it has ever been. All of the things my parents worried I might be exposed to if they let me stay out past 10 p.m. are a reality, and they are at my child’s fingertips.
Published recently by JoCo Magazine, this article takes a close look at the link between electronic device use, depression, and impaired executive functioning in teens. At START, we are proud to be part of a community that is coming together to tackle digital health, and excited to include Johnson County Government on the list of leaders helping raise awareness. Device addiction might be one of the biggest issues our community is facing, but we believe that—together—we can create new norms that promote healthy tech use.
If you are thinking about how to get your kid to put away his or her device at night, but you aren’t sure how they would feel about it, check out these thoughts from our friend, Will Gurley. Will’s unique perspective on device bedtimes comes from his background as someone who has struggled with depression and launched the You Matter Festival in response to the teen suicide epidemic in Johnson County.