ScreenStrong Families

In today’s episode, Mandee Hamann welcomes Gretchen Heinen, a mom of three, multi-entrepreneur, and creator of Dreams Over Screens, a 5-day challenge to reduce screens for adults in business. Gretchen shares her ScreenStrong story of overcoming “blind spots” when it came to screen use by her own kids and how screens used to influence her family’s culture and habits.Join Gretchen as she takes us on the journey of changing her family culture and habits by implementing a ScreenStrong lifestyle. You’ll find inspiration in how she used the ScreenStrong Families Podcast as a way to educate her family and introduce the science and health risks associated with the overuse of screens… which led to her family taking The ScreenStrong Challenge. Gretchen and her family are now about three months into their ScreenStrong lifestyle, and she is so excited to share all of this with you. If this episode inspires you to share your struggles and accomplishments in your family’s journey, we invite you to email us and let us know today!Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Happy New Year!To kick off our fourth season, Melanie Hempe reviews her observations from the holiday season and gives helpful tips for parents who are reconsidering screen time in their home. She also reviews ScreenStrong's bold message and core values to give your family the best chance for success in 2022.Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Thank you all so much for listening and engaging with the podcast this year. Here are just a few highlights from our 2021 episodes and we look forward to seeing you in 2022!Happy New Year!Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Melanie welcomes Olivia Kernekin for today's episode to highlight ScreenStrong's 10 tips to boost your family through holiday gift giving and family traditions. Olivia has worked with ScreenStrong since 2018. She earned a dual degree in English and Dramatic Arts from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and has worked in medical, financial, theatrical, humanitarian, and childcare fields. She shares with us some of her personal anecdotes of her screen journey from childhood through college and provides a unique perspective for parents to consider when choosing to set forth on a screen strong lifestyle.If you find yourself longing for a stronger family connection and are noticing that your child or teen is spending family time isolating on screens, then this is the episode to inspire you to make changes today. The holiday tips offered are practical, authentic and center around holiday activities enjoyed by many families during this special time of the year. Melanie and Olivia invite you to join them as they share how they practice these tips in their own families and you might even find a new tradition that may inspire you to explore with your family.Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

In today’s special episode, Andrew and Evan Hempe answer the question many parents are facing this holiday season, “The only items on my child’s Christmas list are video games, smartphones, and social media, etc. What should I do and what else should I get my kids?”Andrew and Evan share their thoughts on the use of toxic technology while providing a fun and very creative list of non-tech gift suggestions from A to Z. You will find suggestions appropriate for all ages, for girls and boys, that promote real life connections, social and individual skill development that technology just cannot provide to growing children. We hope you find this episode inspiring and encouraging as you either start or continue your ScreenStrong Lifestyle.Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Today Melanie shares a generous and priceless gift from our recent guest, Arlene Pellicane, co-author of Screen Kids: In Their Own Words.  Arlene granted permission for ScreenStrong to play the audio of her film, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this with you all! For those families who have asked us for something they can share with their kids and teens to help them understand the “why” of living ScreenStrong, here is your episode!“WHEN PARENTS WATCH this film, they will be educated about what is possible and why your kids don't have to follow the crowd to digital addiction.”“WHEN KIDS WATCH, they'll see there's much more to life than YouTube, video games, and TikTok.”This episode is a must-listen, must-share, and will encourage you to continue being your own family’s ScreenStrong Coach!To watch the full version of Screen Kids: In Their Own Words, The Film with your family, visit https://www.happyhomeuniversity.com/filmSupport the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Today, Melanie speaks with Arlene Pellicane, co-author of Screen Kids: 5 Relational Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World with Gary Chapman.Arlene and Melanie talk about raising kids without addictive screens, how to encourage your children to stand out from the crowd, and tips for parenting ScreenStrong kids. Arlene also talks about the film she made with her children where they reflect on their childhoods and the benefits of growing up ScreenStrong. Get ready for an emotional discussion of what it means to be a parent and how to give your kids & teens the childhood they deserve.You can find Screen Kids: In Their Own Words, The Film on Arlene's websiteSupport the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Mandee Hamann welcomes Kirt Manecke, a marketing, fundraising, and business development specialist and author of Smile & Succeed for Teens: Must-Know People Skills for Today’s Wired World.Kirt shares the change in teens' development of social skills that inspired him to write his book in order to help teens and young adults build skills and become successful. He perfectly highlights basic tips for teens such as how to interview and get a job, develop customer service skills, volunteer successfully to aid in the development of leadership skills, and build self-esteem and confidence that teens and young adults are not able to learn from a screen. This episode will motivate parents to talk and encourage their teens to get a summer job or to start volunteering in a community organization and build those life skills! Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Today, Mandee Hamann welcomes our own founder, Melanie Hempe, to talk about ScreenStrong’s new initiatives launching next month. She introduces ScreenStrong’s new Member Portal which will ultimately strengthen our community and help families create positive change.Melanie shares her passionate vision and hard work over the last eight years that's accumulated into offering the exclusive content to our members. It’s been her goal to create a safe place to grow ScreenStrong and establish a culture of belonging. She describes the newly revised Kids’ Brains & Screens Online Course, our new 30-Day Challenge, and bonus content of e-books, worksheets, Q&A interviews, and webinars. The Member Portal content is endorsed and supported by experts in the field of child & adolescent psychiatry and psychology, as well as by other professionals in related fields. Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin

Today Melanie is joined by Brandie Hadfield, a Certified Attachment Parenting Educator and Certified Family Health Coach. She is a mother to two boys and a new ScreenStrong Ambassador who shares her story of how she changed her family’s lifestyle and began parenting without screens.Brandie and her family are six months into their ScreenStrong journey with a very clear “before” and “after.” She shares how self-judgement colored her ability to create effective limits with her kids, which is a common struggle for parents wanting to do the “right thing” for their children. Brandie introduced the concept of a 30-day screen break to her family, using a team approach to making changes in her family’s habits. She shares how this screen break led her to the ScreenStrong community, giving her the opportunity to be more informed and educated in how screen exposure was affecting her children’s development. Brandie is passionate and joyful about sharing her family’s achievements by choosing real life over a virtual, disconnected world. This episode is encouraging, uplifting, and inspiring. You will want to share this one with a friend.Support the showDon't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW Adventures of Super Brain book! Start your ScreenStrong Journey today! Check out our Kids' Brains & Screens products. Want to help spread the ScreenStrong message to your community? Consider becoming a ScreenStrong Ambassador! ScreenStrong Tech Recommendations Canopy—Device Filter (use code STRONG for discount) Production Team: Host: Melanie Hempe Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin