I Thought Parents Could Solve Their Kids’ Screen Time Troubles. I Was Wrong.

The useful part

Before I spent 13 weeks interviewing experts about children and screens, I was convinced the rules existed. Some brilliant researcher, psychologist, educator or parenting expert had cracked the code and could tell me exactly how much screen time was acceptable for an 11-year-old with ADHD and anxiety. Follow these steps and his attention, sleep, mental health and development will all be fine.

How it works

• Instead, after 13 weeks of conversations with internationally recognised experts, I had accumulated a notebook full of nuance, a phone full of additional research and approximately 700 new questions.
• The 13 weeks of interviews were both a professional project and a very personal attempt to understand how I could protect and guide my own son.
• He can explore an interest for hours, teach himself how something works, create, problem-solve and connect with other kids.
• Your child will develop a healthy relationship with technology and never scream, "BUT I WASN'T DONE!" when the timer goes off.
• I am a neurodivergent single mother raising an 11-year-old son with ADHD and anxiety.

What to take from it

Screens are not a simple subject in our house because my child's relationship with technology is not simple. He can experience competence in digital spaces on days when the nondigital world has mostly reminded him about the things he forgot, misplaced or failed to finish. A screen can help him regulate after holding himself together through an exhausting school day.

Details worth keeping

Technology gives him access to things that are genuinely good for him. It can also make the next transition approximately 4,000 times harder. <img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/6ab3f00e1800...