Parenting in this digital age is full of challenges. I imagine many of you are nodding in agreement.
As parents, we are not immune to the pressures of this digital world either. In fact, by virtue of reading this blog, you are probably someone who, like me, goes online from time to time to look for solutions for your family.
And when you do, it can feel like a sea of perfect experts with perfect advice. “Just follow these three easy steps and everything will fall into place.”
Parenting isn’t a formula. It’s trial, reflection, humor, and a lot of trying again.
I still remember a conversation with my daughter Tessa, shown in our first movie, Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age. With genuine good intent, I sat down to get her input on what she felt would be appropriate rules around her (new at the time) smartphone use. You can see in the clip below that the well-meaning moment didn’t go exactly to plan.
Whenever I watch it now, I can see the mix of frustration and worry on my face, that feeling of somehow making things worse while trying to do the right thing.
But that moment turned out to be a gift. It helped both of us figure out how to talk more openly about this stuff in the future, and it reminds me that often our biggest parenting breakthroughs come from putting our missteps right. Not from executing “perfect” advice in a “perfect” way.
Each week, our small team, usually my co-creator Lisa and I, gathers ideas for this blog. Sometimes from the news, sometimes from my clinic, sometimes from a note one of you sent. Then we ask, “What helpful conversation could this spark around the dinner table?” That question guides everything we publish.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
It’s knowing how much your input has always helped us that inspired us last week to launch a short community survey. We want to learn more about what you enjoy in these blogs and emails, and what you’d like to see more (or less) of. Your voices really do shape what we create each week.
Take the Screenagers Community Survey Here (opens in new tab)
As a small thank you for taking the survey, we'll be drawing at random 5 submissions to each win a $50 amazon.com voucher. More details at the survey.
Don't forget, If you ever want to reach out you can always email me at delaney@screenagersmovie.com. I read every message.
Some of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had have started with a simple “I wanted to ask…” from a parent or teacher.
Thank you for being part of this incredible community. Screenagers has always been more than a series of films. It’s a growing network of families and educators learning, sharing, and navigating this digital world together. There are no perfect answers here, just real people supporting one another. And that’s exactly how it should be.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel! We add new videos regularly and you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our most recent:
As we’re about to celebrate 10 years of Screenagers, we want to hear what’s been most helpful and what you’d like to see next.
Please click here to share your thoughts with us in our community survey. It only takes 5–10 minutes, and everyone who completes it will be entered to win one of five $50 Amazon vouchers.
Parenting in this digital age is full of challenges. I imagine many of you are nodding in agreement.
As parents, we are not immune to the pressures of this digital world either. In fact, by virtue of reading this blog, you are probably someone who, like me, goes online from time to time to look for solutions for your family.
And when you do, it can feel like a sea of perfect experts with perfect advice. “Just follow these three easy steps and everything will fall into place.”
Parenting isn’t a formula. It’s trial, reflection, humor, and a lot of trying again.
I still remember a conversation with my daughter Tessa, shown in our first movie, Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age. With genuine good intent, I sat down to get her input on what she felt would be appropriate rules around her (new at the time) smartphone use. You can see in the clip below that the well-meaning moment didn’t go exactly to plan.
Whenever I watch it now, I can see the mix of frustration and worry on my face, that feeling of somehow making things worse while trying to do the right thing.
But that moment turned out to be a gift. It helped both of us figure out how to talk more openly about this stuff in the future, and it reminds me that often our biggest parenting breakthroughs come from putting our missteps right. Not from executing “perfect” advice in a “perfect” way.
Each week, our small team, usually my co-creator Lisa and I, gathers ideas for this blog. Sometimes from the news, sometimes from my clinic, sometimes from a note one of you sent. Then we ask, “What helpful conversation could this spark around the dinner table?” That question guides everything we publish.
It’s knowing how much your input has always helped us that inspired us last week to launch a short community survey. We want to learn more about what you enjoy in these blogs and emails, and what you’d like to see more (or less) of. Your voices really do shape what we create each week.
Take the Screenagers Community Survey Here (opens in new tab)
As a small thank you for taking the survey, we'll be drawing at random 5 submissions to each win a $50 amazon.com voucher. More details at the survey.
Don't forget, If you ever want to reach out you can always email me at delaney@screenagersmovie.com. I read every message.
Some of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had have started with a simple “I wanted to ask…” from a parent or teacher.
Thank you for being part of this incredible community. Screenagers has always been more than a series of films. It’s a growing network of families and educators learning, sharing, and navigating this digital world together. There are no perfect answers here, just real people supporting one another. And that’s exactly how it should be.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel! We add new videos regularly and you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our most recent:
Sign up here to receive the weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter from Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD.
We respect your privacy.
Parenting in this digital age is full of challenges. I imagine many of you are nodding in agreement.
As parents, we are not immune to the pressures of this digital world either. In fact, by virtue of reading this blog, you are probably someone who, like me, goes online from time to time to look for solutions for your family.
And when you do, it can feel like a sea of perfect experts with perfect advice. “Just follow these three easy steps and everything will fall into place.”
Parenting isn’t a formula. It’s trial, reflection, humor, and a lot of trying again.
I still remember a conversation with my daughter Tessa, shown in our first movie, Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age. With genuine good intent, I sat down to get her input on what she felt would be appropriate rules around her (new at the time) smartphone use. You can see in the clip below that the well-meaning moment didn’t go exactly to plan.
Whenever I watch it now, I can see the mix of frustration and worry on my face, that feeling of somehow making things worse while trying to do the right thing.
But that moment turned out to be a gift. It helped both of us figure out how to talk more openly about this stuff in the future, and it reminds me that often our biggest parenting breakthroughs come from putting our missteps right. Not from executing “perfect” advice in a “perfect” way.
Each week, our small team, usually my co-creator Lisa and I, gathers ideas for this blog. Sometimes from the news, sometimes from my clinic, sometimes from a note one of you sent. Then we ask, “What helpful conversation could this spark around the dinner table?” That question guides everything we publish.
Wow! Summer really goes by fast, doesn’t it? Back-to-school is already here for some and not far away for others. Ahead of this school year, I’ve hand-picked four of our most useful blogs. Practical, timely guides to help you set your family up for a healthier, more balanced relationship with technology in the months ahead.
READ MORE >
Are you co-parenting kids? Do you find that one of you focuses more on establishing rules about screen time while the other is less concerned? You don’t need me to tell you that answering yes to that question is incredibly common, and it can be a major stressor in homes. I look at the challenge and seek solutions in today's blog.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
