Raising Your Child in a Digital World:

Finding a healthy balance of time online without techno tantrums and conflict

digital parenting

Simple Solutions to Stop Digital Fatigue

Jul 28, 2021
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Whether your kids are learning remotely, or spending a lot of time doing online homework, study or assignments (not to mention, their gaming or social media use), chances are they’re experiencing ‘digital fatigue’. Many children and teens are reporting feeling sore eyes, headaches, musculoskeletal aches and pains (such as ‘tech-neck), an inability to focus online, […]

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Are smartphones and social media to blame for teen mental health crisis?

Feb 11, 2020
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Young people are facing a mental health crisis, both here in Australia and internationally. There’s a concerning increase in the rates of mental health issues amongst young people and the finger is often pointed at technology, particularly social media and smartphones, which are contributing factors. But is technology to blame? The dominant, alarmist narrative suggests […]

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Why your kids don’t need a #screenfree summer

Dec 5, 2019
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I have very fond memories of my childhood summer holidays. My first thirteen summers were spent camping for six weeks at Coffs Harbour (I’m in awe of my parents who did this on an unpowered site with three kids). We spent most of these holidays going to the beach, surfing, reading (Babysitters Club and Judy […]

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No, your son isn’t ‘addicted’ to gaming?

Nov 7, 2019
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Calls crescendo from parents concerned that their sons are ‘addicted’ to online games. There are a few weeks that pass where I don’t hear from parents tearing their hair out about their son’s (problematic) gaming behaviours.  Parents who tell me that their son has punched holes in the all when gaming consoles were peeled from […]

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Managing Technology on Playdates & Sleepovers

Aug 29, 2019
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Screen rules on playdates and sleepovers can be a sticky situation. Just like each family has different rules for snacks, sleep and swearing, approaches to managing digital devices also vary significantly. Families really differ on their tech rules (if you want to see what sort of digital parent you are, you can take my digital […]

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3 Things You Need To Know Before You Post About Your Child Online

Jul 26, 2019
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As parents, we are so very lucky to be raising children in the digital era.  Does it shock you that I said that?  It’s amazing that we can video call our children’s grandparent’s on the other side of the world. That we can have group chats with our parent friends so we have someone to […]

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Simple Solutions to Stop Screens Sabotaging Sleep

Jun 22, 2019
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Sleep is vital for kids’ and teens’ optimal health, wellbeing, learning and development. They need both good quality sleep and an adequate amount of sleep. Yet research tells us that many kids and teens aren’t getting a sufficient amount of sleep and/or good quality of sleep. And of the chief reasons why (but certainly not […]

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Why is my child obsessed with YouTube?

May 21, 2019
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YouTube and YouTube Kids have now replaced TV as the chief source of entertainment for both kids and teens. This media juggernaut (which has over 300 videos uploaded to its platform every single minute!) has kids of all ages flocking to it and it has left many parents confused and concerned about its appeal and […]

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Body Image in an Age of Selfies & Social Media

Apr 12, 2019
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We’ve long worried about the challenges kids and teens face forming healthy body images from the unrealistic images depicted in the media. There’s an established history with the media bombaring kids and teens with unrealistic, sexualised, and stereotypical images and messages about bodies. Today, given the popularity of social media and selfies, these concerns are […]

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The Naked Truth: Kids, Teens, Pornography and Screens

Mar 5, 2019
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  WARNING- Content is this blog post may distress some readers. It addresses the issue of pornography.   Pornpgraphy isn’t new.  In years gone by pornography was available to young people via Playboy magazines (‘hidden’ at the back of the local newsagents), or via VHS videos and more recently via DVDs. What’s new however, is […]

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