Raising a Screen-Smart Kid: Embrace the Good and Avoid the Bad in the Digital Age

For parents who didn't grow up with smartphones but can't let go of them now, expert advice on raising kids in our constantly connected world

Most kids get their first smartphone at the same time that they're experiencing major developmental changes. Making mistakes has always been a part of growing up, but how do parents help their kids navigate childhood and adolescence at a time when social media has the potential to magnify the consequences of those mistakes? Rather than spend all their time worrying about the worst-case scenario, readers get a bigger-picture understanding of their kids' digital landscape. Drawing on research and interviews with educators, psychologists, and kids themselves, Raising a Screen-Smart Kid offers practical advice on how parents can help their kids avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits of the digital age by:

• using social media to enhance connection with friends and family, instead of following strangers and celebrities, which is a predictor of loneliness and depression

• finding online support and community for conditions such as depression and eating disorders, while avoiding potential triggers such as #Thinspiration Pinterest boards

• learning and developing life skills through technology--for example, by problem-solving in online games--while avoiding inappropriate content

Written by a public health expert and the creator of the popular blog Rants from Mommyland, this book shows parents how to help their kids navigate friendships, bullying, dating, self-esteem, and more online.