My recommended read this week is The Tech Solution by Shimi Kang.
Very frequently, parents come to me asking how to support their kids with technology.
Dr. Kang has some great tips, firstly starting with when to introduce technology to children.
1) Children should be able to demonstrate the ability to emotionally regulate BEFORE you introduce them to technology - never use tech as a way for your kids to keep calm.
2) Children should have acquired the skill of transitioning from one activity to another before giving them tech. Many parents struggle with getting their kids off of tech. If that's the case, they need to practice this skill in other parts of their life before being given tech. Retrace your steps and take a media break until they have developed this skill.
3) Children under 5 should not have access to tech.
4) Technology is designed to be addictive and increase dopamine in our brains. Giving tech to kids unsupervised and without information about it is like handing them keys to a car without teaching them how to drive.
5) Tech is not a toy. Use it supervised and education programming.
6) Social media has the same effect on our bodies and minds as any other addictive substance and should be approached as such.
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