Less screen time, more quality time

Hello everyone! So it looks like TikTok may be closer to being dunzo in the US. A bill passed that will ban the app in the States unless it sells to a US-based owner in the next six months (which could be tough, seeing as it has a reported price tag of $100 billion). We’re sure we know what your teens think of a potential TikTok ban…but what do you think?

The Parent’s Guide to AI Tech

Does AI know your kid better than you do? Look, we’re not thrilled to admit it…but the answer might be yes. Think about it: The average teen spends almost 5 hours a day on social media, according to a 2023 study by Gallup. That’s way more time than our kids spend talking to us.

So with all that quality time, the artificial intelligence behind social media algorithms could very well know our teens better than we do. What’s a parent to do—especially to ensure our kids use tech for good (and not evil)?

The top tactics to curb the negative impacts of AI and other tech: 1) Talk to your kids and 2) cut down on screen time. Neither is particularly easy…but let’s focus on the tougher one: cutting down on screen time.

1. Here are 6 tips to cut down kids’ screen time

2. This Reddit thread has some great ideas for getting teens to put down the phones

3. And a super informative explainer of teen screen time

Do Phone-Free Schools Work?

We’re torn. What do you think of banning cellphones for students in school?

We recently came across this really interesting piece written by a teacher struggling big time with phone use in her classroom…because of parents. According to her, tons of parents insist on constant contact with their kids throughout the school day, to the point of chiming in on lessons as they’re happening.

• FYI: 77% of US schools prohibit cellphones at school for non-academic use, but that doesn’t mean students (and their parents) follow the rules…

• In fact, 97% of kids use their phones during school hours.

On one hand, we get why parents want to have a direct line to their kids no matter what. It’s scary to send them out into the world, and hearing from them regularly can feel like a huge relief. But on the other hand, phones are distracting and they’re supposed to be at school to learn, not to text.

The Guide to Raising Teen Boys Is Here

Raising teen boys is hard. Research shows that parents begin to reflect less emotional language back to their sons as early as age 5. Around age 13, boys begin to actively hide their emotions to fit into what they think it means to be “masculine.”

Boys, then, often miss out on lessons about processing feelings and dealing with difficult emotions. And it becomes a vicious cycle! So how do we, as parents, break it? And raise boys who are connected to their emotions? 

Dr. Brendan Kwiatkowski shared his research on boys’ social-emotional development, plus advice on how parents can create a safe space for boys to learn to express their emotions in healthy ways in this stellar convo.

→ Listen to the episode here if you’re a member of our Common Parent community!
→ And sign up for a free 14-day trial to the Common Parent if you’re not!

Can we be honest for a second? We are sick of talking about our kids all the time (and boy did we show it in this unhinged podcast episode)! We love them to bits and we’d do anything for them…but every now and then, we just want to talk about something else.

So today? The perfect recs to talk about anything other than your kids.

• A show we can’t stop watching: Abbott Elementary season three! So good.

• A book we recently loved: This collection of essays from Louise Kennedy centers around women in moments of struggle or strife. Some were unsettling, but all were moving. Call us Professors Cat and Nat!

• A bit of culture that’s sure to spark convo: Where TF is Kate Middleton?

• Okay, fine…you can talk about your kids a little bit. How about discussing how much say parents should have in what their kids wear?