✨How to Raise Kids Who Use Screens Well
A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Raising Kids Who Love Life More Than Scrolling
Everyday, I read about technology destroying children’s brains. Then, the next article exclaims that some new app has children reading earlier than ever.
Which is it?
Is technology improving our children’s capacity to learn or is it destroying it?
The frustrating answer is… both.
I’ll never forget how my 6 month old baby was entranced by the television. Nothing could draw her attention away — not toys, not music, and most disturbingly …. not our smiling faces.
It left my husband and I deeply uncomfortable.
The TV went off — and stayed off. To this day, we watch one family movie a week. One.
But we couldn’t live in the dark ages forever.
A textbook can show you a picture of Versailles. A virtual tour can let your kids experience the sparkle of the mirror room and frescoes on the ceiling. A math textbook moves at one, slow pace, but an adaptive program creates a curriculum uniquely suited to my child.
Screens are powerful when used correctly.
So, how do we take advantage of the opportunities technology provides, while ensuring our children don’t become slaves to TikTok?
The answer is simple to state, but difficult to live:
✨Love Life and Use Screens✨
Children must learn to love life first — then let screens enrich that life.
(The opposite → children who love screens and tolerate life spells disaster)
As parents, we must create clear, non-negotiable boundaries while the brain is developing. We also must nurture a deep, aching love of the authentic, sand between your toes, looking at the ocean, real world.
If your children are not grounded into real life, the algorithm will change how and what they think.
Today, let’s talk about raising kids who type novels, learn math with Math Academy, and use simulation software to study plate tectonics — but spend their free time riding bikes, reading books, and knitting hats (hey, that’s my kids!)
Ready? Let’s go.
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