ScreenStrong Families

Today, Melanie talks with Dr. Kim Le, a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Adelaide, Australia. He completed his psychiatry training in New South Wales and in 2015, Dr. Le received a federal grant to collaborate with an Internet Gaming Addiction Clinic for teenagers in Singapore. He has a special interest in “Gaming Disorder," which was recognized by the World Health Organization in 2018 as a mental health disorder. Dr. Le shares his professional journey that led to his interest and passion in treating families struggling with gaming addiction, and he is committed to increasing community awareness of the negative effects of online games on a child’s development. Melanie and Dr. Le discuss how the game designers capitalize on the business aspect of video games that leads to the scientific development of the immersive design that hooks the player. Dr. Le introduces the idea of "The Hero's Journey" archetype that appears to meet the psychological needs of children that disconnects them from reality. They discuss why moderation is not encouraged, but rather to change the focus on family values in changing your family's routines. Identification and prevention of screen addiction is also discussed as Dr. Le shares stories of families he has worked with struggling to address issues of gaming addiction with their children. This is a must-listen episode for all parents, and we encourage you to share this with friends as this would be the perfect episode to start a podcast discussion group and grow your own ScreenStrong community.Dr. Kim Le's TedTalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ7A74Vx7YE&t=55s&ab_channel=TEDxTalks Learn more about Dr. Le's practice here: https://cgiclinic.com/about-the-doctor/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

Join Melanie in Part 2 of her conversation with Dr. Richard Freed, author of our book of the month, Wired Child. Dr. Freed is a practicing Clinical Psychologist and supervisor studying the effects of technology on children and speaking on parenting in the age of digital technology. He is also on the advisory board of ScreenStrong and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood's Children's Screen Time Action Network, and a contributor to the Huffington Post. In this episode, Dr. Freed introduces solutions and what to watch out for in your elementary through high school age children. Dr. Freed describes the two characteristics of authoritative parenting, which science backs as the best way to parent your children. Melanie and Dr. Freed discuss how technology displaces the family bonds, and thus, the primary solution is to bring your child back to the family and away from toxic technology use. He discusses how dependency on screens can look for children in elementary, middle, and high school, and what problems or issues that arise and are red flags to parents. This episode touches on gender differences in technology use, extrinsic versus intrinsic motivators, and suggestions on how to replace screens with a focus on family and community.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 talks with Pediatric Optometrist, Dr. Janet Wilson, who has  practiced as a developmental functional vision specialist over the past 13 years. Janet is also mother to a 3-year old son and is actively parenting a low-tech lifestyle with him. Janet discusses how visual development is linked to other childhood developmental milestones that actually assist children in gaining 17 visual skills as they grow. She goes on to explain what is at risk when we interrupt child development with exposure to hand-held screens and how we may be unknowingly affecting our children’s lifelong skill development. Janet also identifies three problem areas she sees in her field of practice that are related to the overuse of screens: vision and learning, the increase in diagnosis of myopia or nearsightedness, and the increase in dry-eye disease in teenagers.  This episode is wonderfully educational as well as encouraging parents to protect eye health by less exposure to screens and more interactive play in nature and in our daily lives as we are raising our children. 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 episode, Mandee is joined by Jason and Lisa Frost, founders of the nonprofit organization, Wired Human, and authors of the book, The Glass Between Us: Empowering Youth to Combat Digital Exploitation - A Value-Based Approach to Screen-Driven Challenges. They have worked with teens, individually and together, for almost a decade through speaking engagements, nature-focused camps, and teaching in community-based settings. Jason and Lisa share their passion and enthusiasm in encouraging the next generation, our teens, to be digital pioneers in tackling the challenges toxic screen use presents to their enjoyment in living a full life. The values of authenticity, leadership, and the power of presence in cultivating deep, fulfilling relationships are the focus to help teens create the future they desire. Their primary message is one of hope and that "you are enough" in this digital age. They encourage teens to socially connect with each other in real life to discover the truth of the inherent value of themselves, and ultimately their generation, that cannot be found through a screen. In listening to this episode, you will find yourself inspired by their message and ready to help your teen, as well as your family, start the journey of self-discovery through building real-life relationships.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

Dr. Richard Freed, author of our book of the month, Wired Child, is a practicing Clinical Psychologist and supervisor studying the effects of  technology on children. He is  on the advisory board of ScreenStrong as well as a contributor to many publications.In part 1 of 2 interviews, Melanie and Richard share a passionate conversation about the lies and myths being promoted by the tech industry and how it has manipulated the way we have parented over the last 15+ years. They discuss how under the guise of “empowerment” and “getting ahead,” the tech industry sold us myths that we grabbed hold of and continue to cling to as technology exploded with popularity in our culture.  In actuality, the effects of toxic screen use and media exposure is constantly undermining the two most important factors in our children’s well-being: family connections and school engagement. This episode is one that you will want to listen to at least twice and inspire you to join us in reading Dr. Fred’s book, Wired Child: Reclaiming Childhood in a Digital Age. Stay tuned for Part 2 when Melanie and Richard talk about solutions. 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's discussion is the second part of our book of the month, Assassination Generation: Video Games, Aggression, and the Psychology of Killing, written by Lt. Col. David Grossman. Melanie and Lt. Col. Grossman discuss what he views as the “single greatest threat to our civilization”—our children’s exposure to violent visual imagery perpetuated by the Media industry at large. Lt. Col Grossman points out the Media’s double message in their acknowledgment of their influence on society while rejecting any responsibility in the content of what they are streaming to our society. This interview is packed with information on the key factors that have influenced the dramatic rise in teen suicide to how violent media content is processed by our kids’ brains. Melanie also dives into the process of the ScreenStrong Challenge and identifies it as a starting point for families to begin detoxing from toxic screen use. Lastly, Lt. Col. Grossman offers essential encouragement to families who are struggling to find hope in bringing back childhood to their children.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

Are video games hurting your relationship with your kids? Have you lost your kids to their screens? Are you desperate to get them back? Imagine never having screen conflict in your home again!As a dad, have you ever asked:Is playing video games with my kids a good bonding activity?Am I connecting with my kids as much as a think I am?Aren't screens the primary way parents spend time with their kids?Join ScreenStrong and James & Arlene Pellicane in an exclusive webinar for dads. Listen to James describe how he has solved the screen dilemma in his home by establishing healthier bonding activities with his kids. Audience Q&A included.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 speaks with Marilyn Evans, a mom of 5 boys and the director of Parents Aware, a resource she launched in 2016 with the goal of educating and helping parents begin to have open, honest and compassionate conversations with their children about relationships, sex and pornography.  Melanie and Marilyn discuss common blind spots parents have regarding pornography. They talk about how to build safer habits through having open and honest conversations with your children. Marilyn offers tips for both younger and older children that include taking advantage of  daily moments, a focus on values, and using available resources to help guide the conversation. Please join us in listening in to this simple, yet profound interview as Melanie and Marilyn encourage parents to be bold and brave in talking with their children about topics many of us find difficult to navigate.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 talks with Steve and Candice Watters, a married couple dedicated and passionate about helping and supporting young families. They have four children—13 to 22—whom they have raised ScreenStrong.Steve and Candice share their “light bulb moments” that led to their realization and diligence in becoming intentional parents. They identified a focus and practice of building relationships with their children, building alternatives to what was being offered culturally, and being intentional about the culture of their home. They offer tips and guidance on how to introduce new habits and limits to create ways of reshaping your kids’ “appetites” for non-screen activities. Steve and Candice provide encouragement and remind us that “you are your child’s favorite toy,” and caution us on the small window of time we all truly have in building healthy families. This is an episode to inspire you to reassess your family’s culture, reassess your spousal and parental bonds, and begin to cultivate alternative family choices and habits.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

This week we'll be hearing from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a US Army Ranger, paratrooper, former West Point Psychology Professor, and author of Assassination Generation: Video Games, Aggression, and the Psychology of Killing. Lt. Col. Grossman describes how playing "innocent" video games progress to addiction, why video games make kids aggressive, the dangers of operant and classical conditioning, and the mental, physical, and emotional turmoil children are experiencing due to a saturation of media violence. 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