Managing technology, devices and screen time is a complex and challenging issue that we all need to navigate. Whether we’ve got a 4-year-old who is watching too much Bluey or a 14-year-old who checks her phone every ten minutes, helping our kids manage a device is a challenge for all parents. Digital Wellbeing Expert, Dr Kristy Goodwin, shares her incredible insights and advice about how to set healthy boundaries around screens.
Do you feel guilty every time you hand over the iPad so you can get a few things done around the house? Does it drive you mad that your son would rather play Fortnite than build a fort with the neighbour’s kids? Do you fret about how much time your teen spends on social media?
Or… are you so wary of technology that you enforce a strict no-devices policy? Do you avoid people and places where your child will have access to screens and you’re starting to feel a little socially isolated?
How do we know what’s harmful and what’s helpful? What’s the best approach? How do we navigate the digital dilemmas we face in the techno age to raise healthy, happy kids and teens?
Technology isn’t going away. It’s such a huge part of our lives that it can be difficult to know where to start. We know that too much can be harmful to a child’s or adolescent’s development, but how much is too much? We also know that screens can be a helpful learning aid in a child’s education, but where’s the line?
In this episode of The Parenting Couch podcast, Rachel and Sarah talk to Dr Kristy Goodwin about how we can best manage devices with our kids. The interview is packed with lots of sensible and practical advice about how we, as parents, can be the pilot and not the passenger of the digital plane.
‘As a mum… I know how hard it is to deal with techno tantrums – yep, my kids have ‘em too – fun aren’t they?! As a researcher and digital wellbeing expert… I help parents ditch the techno-guilt and raise healthy, happy kids and teens who thrive online and offline. I love to translate the latest science and research about children’s and teens’ development, health and technology and turn it into practical and digestible information for parents who want peace of mind about parenting in the digital age – without having to ban the iPad or phone, or unplug the TV. Let me arm you with the facts, not fears, about what children and teens really need to thrive in a screen-saturated world.’ – Dr Kristy Goodwin
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH DR KRISTY GOODWIN
How to deal with ‘techno tantrums’
In this snippet of the interview with Dr Kristy Goodwin, she explains how we can help get our kids off devices without a techno tantrum.
“We need to give them an appealing transition activity. So don’t say to your child, ‘Put your phone away and go do your maths homework’. Also, don’t say to them, ‘Turn off the PlayStation, and go and sit at the dinner table’. They’re not appealing transition activities. Give them a choice of two things to do, and bonus points if the post-screen activity involves movement. Get them to transition away from the screen doing something that they like, again, so that their brains are still getting that that dopamine and serotonin.
The other thing is to ‘cognitive prime’ them. So, before you want them to switch it off, say to them ‘When this episode finishes… when you finish this Fortnite battle… when you get to the next level or the next stage, I’d like you to turn it off’, reminding them that their time is coming to an end rather than just abruptly going in there and demanding that they switch it off. ” – Dr Kristy Goodwin
Listen to the podcast interview with Dr Kristy Goodwin
Listen to the episode of The Parenting Couch interview with Dr Kristy Goodwin on your favourite podcast platform.
About Dr Kristy Goodwin
Dr Kristy Goodwin is an award-winning researcher, speaker, author, and mum of 3 on a mission to help parents and educators raise happy, healthy children and teens who thrive online and offline.
As a researcher and educator herself, she’s spent most of her professional career researching and speaking about the ways in which technology shapes children’s and teens’ wellbeing, health, and learning. She provides research-based, but realistic advice and strategies to teachers and parents on how they can teach their children to use technology in productive and purposeful ways without reverting to phone bans or constant digital detoxes.
She authored the book Raising Your Child in a Digital World and has conducted numerous evaluations and research studies for the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities. Prior to becoming a speaker and consultant, she worked as an educator for 14 years with schools in both the public and private sectors. She also lectured at Macquarie University and University of Notre Dame and have completed a PhD on the impact of digital technologies.
Offers
Digital Wellbeing Checklist
The Digital Wellbeing Checklist has all the tools you need to create healthy tech habits in your home.
Whether you love technology or loathe digital devices, your kids and teens will inherit a digital future. So ‘digital amputation’ isn’t a solution. Your child or teen needs to develop healthy and helpful digital habits so that they’re not a slave to the screen. As modern parents we need to help foster our kids’ digital wellbeing and that’s exactly what this Digital Wellbeing Checklist will do. Below you’ll find 20 research-based and realistic strategies to ensure that your child’s or teen’s digital habits are healthy and not harmful… so you can finally ditch your guilt, grief and guesswork as you raise a ‘screenager’. (Nudge, nudge. Many of these tips also work for adults too.)
- Free download! No code required.
- Click here to get the Digital Wellbeing Checklist
Switched on Parents Portal
Where empowered parents and carers come to find expert advice, simple strategies and peace of mind in the digital age.
- Get 20% off with code: PARENTS
- Click here to find out more about the Parents Portal
InCharge Box
The InCharge Box is the world’s first lockable tech charging station here to help you:
- Declutter the tech, charging and storing it all in one stylish lockable box.
- Create healthy screen time boundaries and keep devices out of the bedrooms at night.
- Charge your tech in one location with 6, 11 or 12 USB charging ports. Perfect for smartphones, tablets, gaming remotes, smart watches and laptops.
- Enjoy family time without a screen in hand.
- Take time to relax away from the social media scroll to enjoy more of the screen free moments of life.
Get $25 off with code: DRKRISTY. Click here to buy online.
Essential Details
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH DR KRISTY GOODWIN
Listen to more Parenting Couch podcasts
- How to connect with and enjoy your baby, with Pinky McKay
- How to help your child through anxiety, with Karen Young
- Henny Stier shares her top tips for buying a family home
- Phillip Heath, Head of Barker College: Choosing a school for your child and the move to co-ed
- Kaz Cooke shares her tips for helping your tween through puberty
