Dr. Cameron Caswell joined the Pelham community by Zoom to address issues that local parents have raised about supporting our kids in the digital age. Her entire presentation and the Q&A were recorded and you can find them below.

In her practice, Dr. Cam has identified “7 Guidelines For Balancing Screen Time And Real Life”. Here is a summary of what they are and what they mean:

1. Accept It Matters To Them: Screen time, devices, and what they do on them means A LOT to kids.

2. Flip The Script: Instead of talking about when the phone, etc, gets taken away, decide the minimum amount of time kids will get on their devices. Then they won’t be so territorial about it, because they will know what to expect, and what won’t be taken away.

3. Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: Not everything kids do online is bad, in fact, there is a lot of great content that is even productive for them! Talk about the difference and encourage Quality.

4. Turn Tech Into Your Ally: Use it to your advantage! Do you want to spend more time with your teen? Maybe make a TikTok together!

5. Fill The Tech Free Void: Use tech free time to do something that interests your child, rather than just leaving it empty (and boring).

6. Give Them Ownership: Kids are often more reasonable than we expect they will be. If you lay out what your objectives are for your family, they will often have creative solutions for how to get there. And their buy-in is critical to success.

7. Talk, Listen, Adjust: Keep the lines of communication open. Check in periodically to see how it’s going on both sides, and make adjustments as needed.