A newsletter for people committed to raising kind, competent children in the digital age.
Before you wrap that phone
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Hi Reader, The other day, I heard a parent describe their child like this: “The phone is basically an extension of her body. She doesn’t go anywhere without it.” She’s 12 and got a phone for her birthday. Her parents asked her to be mature and responsible with it, but things slowly got out of hand. She used to love going on bike rides with her neighborhood friends. Now, she spends all of her after-school hours lying on her bed scrolling. They shared that the phone had become “her entire personality.” They feared how she would react if they took the phone away. Here’s the thing. These are good, loving parents. They didn’t do anything wrong here. The child just got the phone before she had the skills to manage it. I see this all the time, both in my clinical practice as a child psychologist and in the speaking gigs I do. Parents gift their child a phone for a holiday or birthday, and then slowly realize that their children weren’t ready. “We gave her a phone too early” is one of the things I hear most often. If a phone might be in your kid's future, it doesn’t have to go this way. You can introduce it intentionally, and you can start the important conversations before problems show up instead of after. That’s exactly what I help families do in Tech Ready, my course for tweens (5th–8th grade) and their parents to take together. It’s 5 self-paced modules, about 30 minutes each, and it covers the skills that help kids use a phone to connect, create, and learn instead of getting lost in it. On Friday, November 20, I’m running an early Black Friday sale: Tech Ready will be $20 off. ($99 → $79), for one day only. If a phone is on the holiday list, that leaves plenty of time to work through the course together before it’s unwrapped. We wouldn’t hand our kids the car keys without teaching them to drive. A smartphone is an incredibly powerful device, and it deserves the same preparation. Done intentionally, getting a first phone can be an exciting milestone, and one you’ll feel proud of how your family handled. Quick question, so I can send you what’s actually useful. Is a phone on the holiday list this year?
Just remember, you don’t have to figure this out alone. We’re in it together! In partnership, P.S. Not shopping for this right now? Click here and I’ll skip the rest of the sale emails. You’ll still get my regular parenting emails. P.P.S. Were you forwarded this email? If so, join the mailing list here. Tech Positive Parenting, LLC 15466 Los Gatos Blvd, Suite 109-197 Los Gatos, CA 95032 |
Tech Positive Parenting
A newsletter for people committed to raising kind, competent children in the digital age.
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