CONNECTED: How to Show Up For Your Kids in the Digital Age
CONECTADO: Cómo Estar Presentes Para Sus Hijos en la Era Digital
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Your ability to stay connected to your child as their digital world expands is key to their mental health and wellbeing. But what does that look like? This on-demand class delivers the warmth, science, and strategies you need to show up for your kids online and offline.
This on-demand class will give you:
More confidence
Even though many tweens and teens to tell us to get out of their digital lives, research shows (and most teens admit) that we play a powerful and important role in their digital wellbeing. Step more confidently into your role as your child’s digital mentor.
More clarity
There is a lot of conflicting information about screen time in the news and online. This class delivers evidence-based advice, not fear-driven soundbites. No screen time shame in this class. Focus on what matters most when it comes to your kids’ health and wellbeing.
More connection
This course is packed full of scenarios, scripts, and ideas for reducing power struggles, strengthening communication, and increasing connection.
Two Tempting Approaches to Screen Time That Can Backfire
The Yell and Unplug
You feel like media is a mindless waste of time. You worry about addiction and online predators. You’re convinced that every minute spent online impacts your child’s development in negative ways and have a lot of anxiety about the time your kid is spending in front of a screen.
You believe your job as a parent in the digital age is to protect your child or teenager from the harmful risks of screens, devices, and social media. Your answer to most media related requests is usually, “No.”
The Plug In and Run Away
You are really tired. You don’t feel like engaging in power struggles or fights around screen time or media use. You have no idea what your kid is doing on their phone or console and you are too overwhelmed to find out.
For the most part, you give your kid the devices they asked for over and over and over and you think that if they wanted it so bad, they must know how to use it. You often close the door, walk away, and let them do their thing.
There is a different way.
You can become an engaged and influential digital mentor.
CONNECTED
Learn directly from Erin Walsh, co-founder of Spark & Stitch Institute. CONNECTED is the only online class of its kind that:
Builds on your strengths instead of exploiting your fears.
Too often, conversations about screen time and kids orbit around worry and fear regardless of whether they are backed up by the research. This course is grounded in the evidence so that you can clearly identify when to worry and when to relax.
Stitches science to your daily struggles.
Erin is a parent too. This course does rely on brain science and research but doesn’t float above the messy realities of parenting. Instead, it is designed to be reliable, accessible and actionable.
Offers clear, transformational strategies that you can adapt to fit your family.
Study after study offers a common set of ingredients that children need to thrive in the digital age. But your family and your child are also unique. This course shares those critical ingredients while delivering interactive, reflective exercises that allow you to craft strategies that works for you.
Reminds you that media are part of a larger whole
Many of the solutions to our most pressing screen time challenges aren’t about technology at all. They are about what it takes to raise kind, connected, and courageous humans. Certainly this course will help you work through your media-specific issues, but it will also inspire you to look at the big picture and strengthen your family’s commitment to connection.
Here is what you can expect in this self-paced online class:
This course is designed as a self-paced class. This means that you can work through the content on your own schedule and timeline! To help you dive in, you will get access to a new module “Spark” every week for first three weeks. Watch short videos and work through downloads on your own time while getting your questions answered in comments and in our Spark & Stitch classes Facebook group. Then access for three full months so you can revisit the content when you and your kids need it most.
(All content delivered in English with audio files, subtitles, and workbooks translated into Spanish)
SPARK 1: Connect and Communicate
We get started by explaining why you are already your teenager’s digital mentor, whether you realize it or not.
Highlights:
What does an effective Digital Mentor do? Defining and clarifying the role.
Reflective exercises to help you understand the digital parenting style you have now and how to become the Digital Mentor your child needs.
Exercises to help you catch your kid’s digital strengths.
Suggestions for how to handle online challenges.
SPARK 2: Rest and Rejuvenate
It’s hard work to change our relationships with screens. One way to stay motivated through the inevitable push-back is learning the brain science behind when and where kids benefit from digital breaks.
Highlights include:
Why your child needs sleep.
The significance of boredom.
How moving your body positively impacts your brain.
The relationship between spacing out, imagination, and goal setting.
Pep talks that acknowledge how and why habit change is hard and tips to keep going.
SPARK 3: Focus and Fire Up
One of the most precious mental resources we have is our attention. Learn more about how to help your child focus attention in a world full of distractions.
Highlights include:
Why your child needs you to teach them the art of singletasking.
Reactive vs. focused attention.
Dopamine and your child’s brain on technology.
The attention economy and practicing mindful media habits.
Nobody’s time is more precious and valuable than that of a parent. By the end of this course you will have received over twelve engaging video lessons, three strategy-packed downloadable guides, and had the opportunity to engage in an online community.
We are confident that if you really engage in this course, you will feel the difference in how you parent in the digital age. If you don’t see the value within 14 days of starting the class – we will give you your money back.
If, within 14 days of accessing the class, you still aren’t satisfied, you can reach out to the Spark & Stitch team and we’ll get your money back.
Media headlines share a simple equation that goes something like this: Kids + tech = negative outcomes. Yet research shows a much more complicated picture. We know our kids benefit from technology and that they are navigating an unprecedented number of stressors and risks. This means that they need us to celebrate their digital strengths and help them build the skills they need to grow into healthy and whole adults.
In other words, your child needs you to be more than a distant offline relative. They need you to be their digital mentor, even if you don’t think you’re equipped for the job.
As a parent raising a child in the heart of the digital revolution, there is no opting out of this role.
I know you can do this. This class is here to support you!
Erin Walsh, Course Instructor and Founder of Spark & Stitch Institute
I’ve designed workshops and delivered keynotes on technology’s impact on child health and development to thousands of parents across North America for over twenty years. Parents everywhere are searching for strategies and ideas for navigating escalating screen time challenges. This short course delivers the foundational parenting mindset and strategies that minimize online risks while taking advantage of online opportunities.
Here is what you are getting when you get started today:
12 short video lessons (delivered in English, audio files and subtitles in Spanish)
12 downloads that include more information, practical strategies, reflection prompts, and exercises (available in English and Spanish)
A Family Media Priorities Plan (available in English and Spanish)
An original, customized Commitment to Connection printable poster for your home (available in English and Spanish)
Access to social community
Three months access to content
Questions people ask before starting this class:
What is a "live cohort experience" and when does that happen?
Once or twice a year, Erin Walsh opens enrollment for a “live cohort experience” of the self-paced online class CONNECTED. This means that in addition to the on-demand class material, you get access to Erin for special group sessions, bonus opportunities, and personalized advice. The live cohort experience is a good fit if:
You know that you benefit “accountabilibuddies” to complete online courses. While you will still be able to access the content on your own schedule, you will be working through it at the same time as a small group of other parents.
You want more opportunities to ask questions and dig deeper into Erin’s expertise and advice.
You are tired of wondering “Am I the only one who is struggling with this?” Connect with other parents who are navigating the same challenges (and joys?!) in their homes.
You know that tailored advice and increased interaction makes it more likely that you will get the most out of this experience and make the changes you and your kids deserve.
Will you answer my specific questions in this course about ______(insert specific video game here) or this _____(insert social media platform here)?
This class is not designed to take a deep dive into specific apps, games, or platforms. This course is not about how to operate the latest iPhone. Instead, you will learn the foundational mindset and parenting strategies that will help you navigate any challenge as it arises. Apps come and go; these strategies will help you remain consistent, engaged, and helpful as tech changes.
How much time will it take me to do this class?
This course is a “spotlight” course which means it is designed to be short, sweet, and fit into your busy life. That said, the old cliche, “Whatever you put into this is what you will get out of it” really does apply here. We’ve carefully designed the videos and guides to get you the most important information and strategies in a compelling and succinct way while also allowing for a deeper dive for those who want to take it.
Each video is five-minutes or less. You can work through the guides on your own time. So plan on at least 6 hours of watching and writing that you can do all at once or bit by bit. You will have three months access to the course so you can come back and watch the videos again and again and re-visit the prompts and exercises whenever you need a refresher.
What is a "spotlight" course?
A spotlight class means that we design the course to be relatively short, accessible, and actionable. This course does not try to cover all things related to tech and kids. It does teach you the parenting mindset and foundational strategies that will help you navigate screen time challenges and opportunities as they arise.
Our signature courses are longer, more comprehensive, and require more time and energy to complete.
Should I still take the class if I have seen you speak before about kids and technology?
I think so! I love delivering keynote addresses and writing books. Sometimes, however, keynotes only have time for an over-packed WHY and leave you hanging when it comes to the details of HOW and WHAT NOW? It’s also really common for only one person in a parenting team to attend a workshop, leaving you to translate the information for your parenting partner.
This class will give you the chance to digest information on your own time, get access to guides packed full of more practical strategies, and troubleshoot challenges as they arise. You also get to decide when and where it makes the most sense to engage in this content.
How long do I have access to this class?
When you start this self-paced course, you will get access to a new module or “Spark” every week for the first three weeks. This will help you dive right in and fully engage as you get started. Then you will have access for three months so you can always come back to it!
You might choose to revisit certain sections when confronted with a challenge, dive into the exercises more fully when you have more time, or run through the whole thing again for a refresher. You do you.
What age or stage of parenting is this course for?
Let’s be honest. Our kids’ worlds are expanding into online spaces earlier and earlier. While this course does not address media in early childhood (that’s for another course!), it is really relevant for parents of kids from late elementary through high school. It is never too early to be prepared for what’s to come and it’s never too late to claim your role as digital mentor.
What if I am not a parent?
While this class is certainly packed with “home-based” strategies, anyone who cares about kids can get a lot out of it. The information is relevant to educators, aunties, uncles, grandparents, and youth serving professionals. We invite you to translate the information and strategies into your own context.
How much access do I get to Erin?
I am excited to be with you on this journey and support your engagement in the course and the materials! I will be in the online community to interact and answer your questions.
This class is not a way to receive therapeutic support, clinical guidance, or receive one-to-one consultation. I am happy to provide recommendations for resources in your area and I will offer a library of online resources for additional support around specific challenges as well.
Can you remind me of everything I’m getting when I sign up for this class?
Here is what you are getting when you enroll today:
12 short video lessons
12 downloads that include more information, practical strategies, reflection prompts, and exercises
A Family Media Priorities Plan
An original, customized Commitment to Connection printable poster for your home
Access to private social community for support, Q&A, and conversation
5 ways to know you are ready to join me in this course:
You are concerned that more screen time might mean more digital challenges like cyberbullying, mental health concerns, or addiction.
You don’t want to keep worrying about how increased screen time will impact you child without clear guidance on what really matters and what to do about it. You want solid information and clear strategies to navigate the road ahead.
You’ve read parenting books or articles about technology and kids but seem to fall back into old habits of either plugging in and walking away or unplugging and saying no.
You are eager for a class that allows you to learn when and where you want to and allows you to tailor strategies to fit who you are.
You know that there are different ways to handle technology in your family system but you don’t exactly know what they are or where to begin.
If you said yes to at least 3 of the above, we can’t wait to meet you inside Connected: How to Show Up For Your Kids in the Digital Age
