When it comes to kids and screens we recommend parents delay, delay, and delay. The American Academy of Pediatrics and similar organizations around the world recommend that children under two years experience no screens (even in the background). The only exception is when the screen is used to foster relationships. For Example, when mom and…
Digital Wellbeing
Parental Control Now Available On Apple Devices
Over the past few years, numerous articles and books have been written regarding the need for more parental control thereby providing for overall digital wellness. Apple’s Screen Time will let parents remotely manage their kid’s usage from their own devices. You are able to see how much time your kids are spending on their devices…
Screen-Free Zones: Ideal vs Reality
I felt like a fraud and hypocrite when my 10-year-old daughter called me out recently on the hours I had been on screens that day. Worse, I’d used “edutainment” for her as a babysitter that day too. But she had had enough. She wanted real life time with me, and trust me I wasn’t happy…
The Screen War: Reporting from the Frontlines
Do you remember the moment you realized there was too much screen time in your family? Do you recall when it first occurred to you that a digital device seemed to be permanently attached to your child’s hand, or that your spouse’s eyes were perpetually glued to a screen? You felt disconnected, concerned, maybe even…
Using Technology for Good: Creating Connection in a Disconnected World
Pro-Connection At Unplugged Family, we believe in using technology for good. We are not anti-technology: we are pro-connection. Technology has provided ways for people to connect across boundaries of time and space, reuniting families and old friends who had lost touch, and giving people a chance to create communities based not just on where they…
How Social Media and Screens Changed the Way We Parent
A new decade dawned and life seemed almost perfect. It was the year 2000 and my husband, Jon, and I were enjoying life in our dream home. I was in my fifth year of homeschooling our daughters while my husband was happily employed. Together, Jon and I enjoyed mentoring and teaching couples how to be…
Hold Out As Long As You Can
Are you a digital immigrant raising digital natives? How is it going? (You’re thinking of giving a chipper, positive reply, aren’t you?) I want your honest answer. How’s it really going? For most of us, the answer is more along the lines of “Houston, we have a problem. A big one.” Deep in our hearts,…
An Inside Look at My Family’s Technology Guidelines
We all desire peace, especially in our home. Technology is often a source of contention in many households, including mine. Let’s face it, today we are barraged 24/7 by media exposure. From smartphones to social media, to streaming music, books, magazines, TV shows, computer games, and apps – all vying for our attention. If, as…
How to Protect Your Family’s Sleep
We’d had the argument at least a hundred nights before. It was the same conversation, the same struggle, and it would be, ultimately, the same outcome. If I had to explain to my child one more time why he couldn’t keep the tablet in his room at night – even if he promised he wouldn’t…
Does Summer Equal More Screen Time?
The weatherman was forecasting another rainy, July day and my daughter and I were locked in a battle of wills. She was desperately trying to get me to cave on the decision to have a screen-free day and I was trying equally as hard to stay strong. It would have been so easy to give…