It doesn’t work well to install parental controls, close our eyes, cross our fingers, and hope for digital greatness. How we use parental controls has a huge impact on whether or not they are effective in helping our kids build digital skills and whether or not they build or erode trust.
From Calm to Chaos The sun rises, your alarm rings, you roll out of bed and find your way to your first mug of coffee (Not a coffee person? Imagine tea instead). The birds are singing. The world feels full of possibility. You take a deep breath, committed to starting your parenting day with smooth… Read More →
I received a phone call this past winter from a parent who had attended one of my workshops a few weeks before. “Dr. Walsh, I definitely feel like I know a lot more about what is going on inside my daughter’s brain after your workshop. But I have to say that it feels like my… Read More →
“Yeeessss! There’s going to be another Fortnite Day!” I heard a child exclaim in the hallway of my kids’ school last month. Confused, I turned to a teacher for an explanation. He responded “I think they mean snow day…” The kids were eagerly anticipating yet another giant storm (yes, we live in Minnesota and yes,… Read More →
The fire crackles and flickers onto the surrounding birch trees. Hanging lanterns transform the tents in front of me into glowing nests. Two signs point towards the nearest outhouses and children’s voices ring out through the air. As I describe this scene, you are likely picturing an adventure deep in the wilderness. But this past… Read More →
When it comes to digital devices, “proximity is destiny.” Of course in an ideal world we would all have the internal impulse control to make good choices about when to scroll and when to look up towards a family member or friend. Yet we know these internal skills are still developing in children’s growing brains… Read More →
Unfortunately, mass shootings, school shootings, racialized violence, and political violence are not uncommon. Even if they don’t happen in their communities, children and teens hear about them from friends, see images on social media, and read about them in the news. These events may cause children to fear that an event like this could happen… Read More →
“Just guess!” I would say to the wall, purposely turned away from my mom perched gingerly on the side of my bed. “Honey,” she would respond, “It’s hard to just guess what you want to talk about.” I usually met this gentle resistance with more crying and an insistence that clearly she should just KNOW… Read More →
“I feel like he is addicted to video games!” This worry is becoming more and more common among parents. For most, it just means that their child loves technology and has a difficult time unplugging. For some, it means that their child is choosing technology over most everything else and is struggling to cope. What’s… Read More →
“What is wrong with me?” This was not an infrequent refrain when I was a teenager. I am sure that some of my behavior (e.g. So. Much. Crying.) wasn’t easy to understand. The transition from happiness to complete despair during my adolescence sometimes clocked in at about 2 seconds, abrupt to say the least. No… Read More →
