In late 2010, a New York Times reporter named Nick Bilton was on the phone with Steve Jobs. Jobs had called to complain about something Bilton had written. Trying to change the subject, Bilton asked what seemed like a safe question: your children must love the iPad? Jobs told him they hadn’t used it. The
The People Who Built It Are the Most Careful With It Read More »
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, many of us remember a familiar midnight ritual: a parent’s footsteps in the hallway, a door easing open, a quiet check that all was well. There were no mobile phones then. No tablets glowing under blankets. And yet, they checked. Not every old parenting style is obsolete. I
If you have ever said the words “get off that phone” and watched a door slam in response, this one is for you. Most parents I coach are not short of love. They are short of language. They know something needs to be said about screens, social media, and the hours their teenager spends in
14 Digital Wellbeing Conversation Starters That Actually Reach Your Teenager Read More »
You’ve tried taking the phone away. Maybe for an hour, maybe for the evening, maybe for a whole weekend after a particularly bad row. And maybe, like most parents, you found that it changed nothing except to make the atmosphere at home even worse. If confiscation worked, none of us would need anything else. The
Why Taking Your Teen’s Phone Away Doesn’t Work (And What To Do Instead) Read More »
So much digital parenting advice points at the teenager. This week, I want to turn the lens somewhere less comfortable: onto us, the parents. Because the most powerful influence on your teen’s relationship with technology isn’t a rule you set or a conversation you have. It’s the example you live, every single day, with your
If you’re parenting a teenager who’s already deep in their digital life, there’s a thought that may have crept in: I think I’ve already missed it. The first phone went out without the conversation. The first account appeared without a plan. And now your teen is fifteen, and the early steps feel like a chance
