Family Tech

The time my mom was three for three and didn’t know it My mom and stepdad came over recently to have me help with a few tech issues. If you’re the tech person in your family, you know exactly what kind of visit this was. They didn’t come over for dinner. They came over with […]

The Text That Started This Episode I was at work when the text came in. It was from a friend of mine, and she opened with a “fun fact” about her daughter. Her daughter had set up a secret Snapchat account. And because my friend is funny, she followed it up with something like, “I […]

If an AI could register your car for you, would you let it? If I’m being honest with myself… maybe. Getting your car registered is such a pain. But would you let it pick your license plate? Pay for it? Put the appointment on your calendar? AI isn’t just answering our questions anymore. It’s starting […]

Age verification is coming to your family’s apps. Here’s what changed, where your child’s birthday lives, and the one account to check this week. The Year 2004 Problem Your 12-year-old typed 2004 into a signup form once. Everything protecting them has believed it ever since. For about 30 years, that’s how the internet worked. A […]

What parents can actually control on a school-issued laptop, and the five questions that get you real answers from your district. TL;DR The comment that started this A while back I did a whole episode on school phone bans: what to do when your school bans phones, and how to talk to your kids about […]

A plain English breakdown of the Meta settlement, what actually changes on your kid’s phone, what linking really shows you, and the 10 minute conversation to have on the couch. TL;DR: The Short Version What happened: On August 26, 2026, a federal judge signed a consent judgment (a settlement a judge turns into an enforceable […]

A few years ago I sat in the auditorium at my kids’ middle school and watched a speaker put two pictures on the screen. On the left, a handgun. On the right, a smartphone. Then he told a room full of parents those two things were the same thing. He was scheduled to give a […]

A calm look at why “is this app safe” is the wrong question, and the four questions that replace it. TL;DR: The Whole Episode in One Box If you are reading this in the carpool line and somebody is about to open a car door, you already have the whole thing. Everything below is the […]

TL;DR: The Short Version If you only have ninety seconds, here is the whole episode: Nobody is asking you to delete a decade. Take a breath. This is a system, not a purge. The Videos You Are Never Going to See There are videos on my list for this channel that will never exist. Not […]

You bought the fitness tracker last New Year’s. You downloaded the habit app because someone online swore by it, possibly me. And right now that tracker is on your dresser with a dead battery, and that app is buried three folders deep next to a parking app you used once in 2023. You are not […]

Short version: I am a family tech expert with 20+ years in IT, and I have made the same types of tech mistakes I warn other parents about. Relaxed parental controls I never tightened back up. A family tech agreement I never actually signed. Browsing history I stopped checking. Devices at family dinners. A Discord […]

TL;DR The advice everyone gives you, and why it is not working Here is the play you have read a hundred times. Step one, decide what you are interested in. Step two, search for a group about it. Step three, join. Step four, introduce yourself. Step five, engage every day so people get to know […]

Last updated: July 2026. Written for US families heading into the 2026 to 2027 school year. Picture the first day of school. Your kid walks in, and their phone gets zipped into a pouch like it is evidence at a crime scene. That image is why my inbox is full right now. Phone-free schools are […]

For years, we’ve focused on how to safely step our kids into the digital world—metering out screen time, setting up parental controls, and teaching them how to browse safely. But many of us today find ourselves in the sandwich generation, simultaneously managing our kids’ digital habits while realizing our aging parents need some tech guardrails, […]

I remember the days of 24-hour photo huts. You’d hand over that little plastic canister, cross your fingers, and pray that at least two of the 24 photos turned out clear. Today, we have the opposite problem. We take thousands of photos and videos, instantly swipe them away into digital storage, and comfortably assume they’ll […]

In a digital world where true online privacy is practically a myth, where do we draw the line between being a responsible parent and invading our kids’ privacy? Let’s be honest: our kids want some form of privacy. They don’t want us reading every single direct message or knowing every random thought they have. Yet, […]

If I asked you right now how much your family spends on digital subscriptions every month, what would you guess? $50? Maybe $80 if you count the “good” Netflix plan and that math app your kids use? You aren’t alone. Most parents think they’re keeping it under a hundred bucks. But the reality? The average […]

One of the most common questions I get asked is, “What is the right age to get my kid a phone?” My answer is always something parents really don’t want to hear. It isn’t a magic number or a specific birthday. It is a readiness level. There are 8-year-olds who are completely responsible and ready […]

If you’ve been scrolling through social media lately, your feed has probably been filled with two major stories that are currently going viral. Let’s dive right into the “too long; didn’t read” (TL;DR) summaries of both events so you can stay in the loop. 1. The Disastrous Distracted Driving Ticket: Kathleen Turner The first story […]

With AI advancement, constant overstimulation, and tech addiction, it often feels like we are hurtling toward an overly tech-based world. We now have devices to track our sleep, smart home security, and cars that resemble KITT from Knight Rider. Many of us are longing for the days when technology didn’t seep into every single aspect of […]