Tools for Change

Pam Tudin is very familiar with the struggles and triumphs of the human condition as a clinical and forensic psychologist. She's an international speaker on all matters teen and tween and the co-founder of KLIKD, an organization committed to providing, can-do solutions for families to use social media happily, safely, and responsibly. In this episode we talk about the importance of being the soft place for your child to land when they make an online mistake and so much more. Listen today!

Just as you wouldn't let a new driver take the wheel of a car without proper training, using smartphones requires instruction. Healthy Screen Habits now has a workbook designed for tweens and teens to help them navigate the rules of the road for smartphone use. Healthy Screen Habits Workbook for Tweens and Teens is what we, the founding members of Healthy Screen Habits, wish we had when our oldest kids were getting their first devices. Learn all about it when you listen to this week’s podcast with the authors: Amy Adams and Jeannie Ondelacy Sprague.

Tessa Stuckey, AKA:The Mom Therapist, works with families navigating the digital, tech-filled world that our kids are growing up in. Tessa takes on today’s negative cultural effects on our kids’ mental health from the perspective of a therapist but with the heart of a caring mother. In this episode we talk about creating a healthier and positive lifestyle for the whole family through anxiety management, understanding online harms, necessary limits of screen use, and the need for healthy connection. Listen now!

After her oldest son dropped out of college due to his video game addiction, Melanie Hempe put her nursing degree to good use and founded Screen Strong,@bescreenstrong a nonprofit that empowers families to prevent screen problems and reclaim their kids from toxic screens. Listen to this episode and learn how your family can stop fighting over screens, kids can gain more life skills and everyone can benefit!

You know that zombie trance that your kids get when watching Cocomelon or other fast paced “kid shows”? Do you ever experience the epic meltdowns that come with the phrase “turn it off”? Well - I’ve got great news. You can avoid these by using kid podcasts to buy yourself 30 minutes for dinner prep/making the needed phone calls/car rides instead! Andi Smiley, the host of The Friendly Podcast Guide @friendlypodcastguide, is awesome!! She created a podcast that helps moms find podcasts for themselves and for their kids. No more zombies!! Build strong imagination muscles by exposing your kids to some of the great kid podcasts out there.

The mission of the Phone-Free Schools Movement @phonefreeschools is to provide youth the freedom to excel academically and develop socially without the distractions, pressures, and harms of phones and social media during the school day. In this episode meet and listen to all 3 founding members: Kim Whitman, Sabine Polak, and Mileva Repasky recount personal experiences with phones in schools and reasons why a “no phone bell to bell” policy in schools is needed.

Christina Crook is a pioneer and leading voice in digital well-being.The award-winning author of The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Balance in a Wired World, harbinger of the global #JOMO movement, and Good Burdens: How to Live Joyfully in a Digital Age, Christina shares her insights about technology and our daily lives. Listen and learn about living joyfully, managing tech and more!

We are digital immigrants raising digital natives. We will never know what it’s like to have the fluency and fluidity of moving through the tech waters the way our kids do. This is why kid-safe devices are necessary and critical for families. This week I get to chat with Bill Brady, co-founder and CEO of Troomi Wireless @TroomiWireless. He talks about his own experiences with tech as well as some of the amazing things that Troomi is making available to keep families safe and protect children’s mental well-being. You’ll want to learn all about it! And then….g et peace of mind and $50 off your Troomi purchase by using the code HSHabits at checkout.

When you install an app on your phone - you know the “permissions” setting? The one that says you don’t want this app to track your movements across all platforms? Meet the guy who brought that to you: Javier Aguera. He's currently working on something new, a method and set of highly practical tools that will create a journey toward a child's ownership of their first smartphone. It is is rooted in giving kids agency and trust paired with skill and habit built in. It’s fascinating - and so is he….you want to hear everything this guy has to say! Listen now!

Aniko Hill made a career of mastering marketing and social media. Fast forward to pandemic times when we all were living online and she recognized that the same techniques she used professionally were keeping her son hooked on tech. Aniko took a deep dive into the digital wellness pond and co-founded DopaMind, an upcoming non-profit whose mission is to educate kids about brain science and let them be their own heroes. Listen now to learn about the science behind the “turn it off” meltdowns and more!

Andy Murphy founded The Secure Dad in 2016 realizing that every parent is a protector. Andy’s passion is to help families live safer, happier lives. The information Andy provides is based on proven methods, experience, and study. In this episode Hillary and Andy discuss the Dark Web, what parents should know about it and a current scam that is rumored to use AI duplication of your child’s voice. Andy provides actionable tips and information that every parent can employ. Listen now!

Get your summer kicked off right and remain screen intentional by setting clear boundaries around screen time and scheduling lots of fun! In this week’s episode Hillary shares personal plans and experiences she has used to keep summers tech-intentional.

The mission of Healthy Screen Habits is to empower families to create healthy habits for screen use, while maintaining technology as a tool, never a replacement, for human connection. Heath Wilson is one of the co-creators of a tool that can help families achieve their relationship & connection goals. Aro is a device and system that leverages the science of habit formation and motivational design by helping families reclaim time spent on their phones. By gamifying OFF time spent on a phone Aro helps to reset your families connectivity, build memories, and create intention surrounding time on technology. Learn more about this new tool to support intentional use of technology and how to start a free trial today by listening to this episode!

Blythe Winslow is the co-founder and executive director of Everyschool.org. She's also the co-author of the Ed Tech Triangle - a tool that can educate, inform and support all teachers who want to use tech intentionally. In this episode we talk about the importance of print versus the digital screen, the EdTech Triangle and Everyschool.org Parent Groups.

Teaching body boundaries and online safety is what We Stand Guard does best. We Stand Guard is a training program designed to educate everyone about preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms, whether that be physical or non-physical contact abuse. Kimberly Perry is the brains behind the program. Author and elementary school educator, with over 15 years experience working with children across the country, Kimberly has a master of arts and teaching and has taught boundaries and personal safety to over 1000 elementary school students. In this episode she teaches us about body boundaries and online safety for kids

LiveMore ScreenLess is a Minnesota-based organization that uses best practices from education, public health, and positive youth development to engage with family, schools, and organizations to promote balanced, intentional, and effective use of technology. That is the total trifecta! the best of all possible uses of technology! Listen to this episode as I talk to the co-founders Maree Hampton and KK Myers. They are dynamic women who are changing the way Minnesota does tech in schools.

Spring forward for a fresh start with Season 7 and digital wellness! Sometimes a fresh start can look like revisiting some old practices; other times it can look like trying something new. This season I will be exploring both of these practices and talking with people who put their plans to action and have developed tools, systems, and even helped design legislation to get digital wellness and healthy screen habits into classrooms and homes. Plus, learn about Screen Free Week 2023 with Jen Kane!