Deep Dive with Alexa Arnold & Kate Cockrill on Tracking our Kids

In 'The Anxious Generation', Jonathan Haidt examines the sudden decline in the mental health of adolescents starting in the early 2010s. He attributes this decline to the shift from a 'play-based childhood' to a 'phone-based childhood', highlighting mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, and perfectionism that interfere with children’s social and neurological development. Haidt proposes four simple rules to address this issue: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and more opportunities for independence, free play, and responsibility. The book offers a clear call to action for parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments to restore a more humane childhood and end the epidemic of mental illness among youth.

In 'The Middle Place', Kelly Corrigan explores the 'Middle Place' — the period when parenthood and childhood overlap. The book chronicles her journey to full-blown adulthood, triggered by her diagnosis with breast cancer and her father's late-stage cancer. Corrigan's storytelling captures the everyday details and tender, sometimes fractious moments that bind families together, offering a heart-wrenching yet funny account of family life and personal growth.