Part Two: Anxious Generation - Now What? (Book Recs)
Now What?
Anxious Generation
When reading parenting books or any “self help” book especially one of my favorites, The Anxious Generation, for that matter, as therapists, we look for books that offer practical steps where the reader can take steps towards greater change and growth. This book does that really well! Whether you’ve read it or this is the first time you’ve heard of it, we hope that these suggestions will help you feel empowered to take some small, meaningful steps forward. The list below isn’t exhaustive but just a few simple suggestions to have a healthier relationship with screens going forward.
What you can do now →
Start with you ↠Before you turn in your smart phone for a flip phone, let’s just start with awareness. We can’t change what we don’t identify and while we can be very aware of our kids’ screentime, we are often oblivious to our own usage. So heck out your phone usage over the past 24 hours and last week. How much social media did you use? What gamng or entertainment apps had the most time logged? I often encourage clients to look at the time used for the past 10 days and see how many hours were given to these apps instead of sleep, exercise, studying or whatever else they need time to do. There are many great apps and even settings that you can put on your phone to limit the time used.
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Take a break ↠Have screen free times for yourself and your family. During these times, be sure to silence alerts and consider putting all the devices, even smart watches in a designated area where they can just be charged or turned off completely. We’ve even seen some individuals set a 6 hour to all day sabath where they tell close friends and family that they won’t be reachable during that time. Instead, they can spend it connecting with others around them, enjoying healthy hobbies and recharging without the constant distraction of phone calls or text notifications. It’s a way to get a vacation of sorts, even while at your own home! Also we encourage all kids to have their phone plugged into a docking station at night. There are countless studies that show how negative having cell phones in rooms at night can be. So go old school and just get them an alarm clock. They will sleep better and you’ll have a happier, more well rested student in the morning!
Rethink your protection plans ↠Since the 80’s parents have really focused on ensuring kids are constantly safe and know about “stranger danger” as it’s called. Even though this is well meaning, most parents focus more on safeguarding their kids from physical dangers and neglect threats to their children on their own devices. The book and the suggested readings offered at the end as well as on the website have a myriad of suggestions for how parents can allow their kids to be more independent their play time but more proactive when it comes to screentime. We encourage parents reading this blog to learn more about how parents can start the conversation with their kids about how they can make wise digital decisions. It also shares ways to safeguard kids from accessing sites that give them access to inappropriate or illicit sites. Since their brains don’t fully develop until 25 years old, having these apps to serve as safeguards help serve as a filter that has yet to be developed inside them.
