Healthy Screen Habits Podcast

A former social media executive turned social media reform advocate, Nicki Reisberg, hosts Scrolling to Death, a podcast for parents who are worried about social media. It's a safe space to amplify stories of harm while educating parents on how to keep their kids safe in a world that is trying to addict and manipulate them.  In this episode learn all about social media, the broken system of tech i...

Dr. Ashley Harlow is a dad of four who definitely understands the complexities of parenting with healthy boundaries around screen time. As a licensed child and adolescent psychologist at Children's Nebraska in Omaha, he has practical tips that can empower families to create a balanced approach. On this episode we talk about social media, chatbots and warning signs of depression to look out for. Li...

Since losing her son Alexander, Amy Neville has dedicated her life to educating and spreading awareness of the dangers that killed him. If you are familiar with her work, you know that she cannot say enough about the pain of losing her baby, but she points out that this is bigger than one fourteen-year-old. So many more adolescents and people of all ages are having their lives cut short through no...

Sarah Gallagher Trombley is on a mission to help parents navigate the digital world with and for their kids by providing insight, advice, and practical tips. Her work and messages cover a wide range of digital topics, including social media, new tech, and apps. As a former Snapchat executive, she saw firsthand how tech companies make decisions about child safety. (spoiler alert: it's dismal) On to...

KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act — lifesaving legislation that would ensure social media platforms have real protections for young people — did not pass Congress. For the last few years, there has been bipartisan support across the political spectrum to legislate for safer spaces online, but ultimately House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise sided with Big Tech at the expense...

As always, the Healthy Screen Habits Podcast crew is going on a holiday hiatus as we walk our talk and spend time with our own families during these very fun festive days. Thank you so much for spending time with us and learning more Healthy Screen Habits together. The Podcast will be back and exploring more in 2025! Listen to this to hear all about tech free gifts and why perfection is completely...

Featured in Time Magazine as one of the best inventions of 2023. The Bark phone continues to expand and deliver upon the reliability and safety needs for kids as they explore their online life. On this episode, listen to Bark's Chief Parenting Officer, Titania Jordan,  to learn more about the Bark phone, the Bark for Schools app, and so much more.  

Tweens and teens are flooding beauty counters after watching skinfluencer skin care regimens and make up tutorials. With over 15 years in the natural product and nutrition industries, Kimberly Grustas has an advanced knowledge of the dangers of even trace levels of estrogenic chemicals during the delicate transformation from girlhood to adult, AKA: puberty.  On this episode, we talk about skinflue...

As parents play key roles during childhood and adolescence, child-parent relationships, parenting styles and home environments have been identified as factors that may contribute to children's screen use patterns. Listen as the lead author/researcher, Dr. Jason Nagata, of an article titled, Associations Between Media Parenting Practices and Early Adolescent Screen Use published in a recent article...

With a mission to create a safer internet for everyone and huge celebrity endorsements in Hollywood, Aura has taken the digital safety sphere by storm.  Dr. Scott Kollins joined Aura @aura_protects as its Chief Medical Officer. Wielding a robust background in clinical psychology and digital health, his career includes significant contributions to the development of digital therapeutics and mental...

The UnPlugged Hours is the story of one woman's journey to creativity, self, and family.  After recognizing how much tech was affecting her creative process and stripping her imagination, Hannah Brencher committed to intentionally taking a 1,000 hour break from technology.  She did not intend to write this book - her process started as a commitment to self-improvement and became so much more.  Han...

Todd and Mia Minor are parents who have become a powerful force in awareness building and education of online challenges. The Minor's lives changed forever when Matthew, their 12-year-old son, died accidentally through participation in a social media challenge known as the Choking Challenge. In this episode, learn about online challenges and how kids are perceiving them. Listen now!  

Pam Tudin is very familiar with the struggles and triumphs of the human condition as a clinical and forensic psychologist. She's an international speaker on all matters teen and tween and the co-founder of KLIKD, an organization committed to providing, can-do solutions for families to use social media happily, safely, and responsibly. In this episode we talk about the importance of being the soft...

Just as you wouldn't let a new driver take the wheel of a car without proper training, using smartphones requires instruction. Healthy Screen Habits now has a workbook designed for tweens and teens to help them navigate the rules of the road for smartphone use.  Healthy Screen Habits Workbook for Tweens and Teens is what we, the founding members of Healthy Screen Habits, wish we had when our oldes...

Wendy Waddel is the program manager of Safety Net Smart Cyber Choices,  a collaborative program of the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the San Diego Police Foundation. @sandiegopolicefoundation  She has all the details about laws and legal ramifications surrounding online predators, nude selfies, and more.  I learned so much about what to do about online scams & hacks and...

On this episode learn about Screens Away, Time to Play! It is the picture book that belongs in every waiting room, classroom, and teacher library.  Written by Kailan Carr M.Ed, this book has hidden pictures, invitations for offline play, and teaches kids about the brain science behind persuasive design.  Written in a fun rhyme scheme with engaging illustrations it is truly the book that is needed...

Four decades of research have shown that pornography undermines the whole person's health of young people. It impacts every facet of their developmental wellness; social or emotional, cognitive or physical. When (not if) your child gets exposed to pornography it can shape how they think about sex and relationships, including respectful behavior and consent, and things like equality and their under...

Recognizing that being on social media felt like an unwanted requirement for him to socialize as a teen and young adult,  Sean Killingsworth created: Reconnect Movement.  Looking to combat what Killingsworth calls the "social wasteland" created by a generation's overuse of tech,  ReConnect Movement builds in-person communities to detox from distractions, make friends, and just hang out.  Reconnect...

Healthy Screen Habits had an amazing summer filled with family adventures, shared memories, and - most exciting of all:  the publication of our first workbook!  Healthy Screen Habits for Tweens and Teens - A training workbook to help you use your phone wisely is now available. Whether your child is new to owning a phone or even if they've had one for a while, chances are they're still figuring out...

Get your summer kicked off right and remain screen intentional by setting clear boundaries around technology and brainstorming lots of fun!  In this week's episode Hillary shares the Healthy Screen Habit free tool she has used to put kids in charge and keep summer tech-intentional.

Playing outside is so much more than physical activity. Some of the many benefits include fitness, vitamin D and sleep. Being in nature also enhances focus and attention, it improves problem solving, reduces stress, increases empathy, improves mood.  The influence of nature is dramatic and pervasive for all of us.  There was a study that said that hospital patients, who have views of greenery outs...

Erin Loechner is  a former social media influencer who walked away from a million fans to live a low-tech lifestyle and is now teaching others how to do the same! As the founder of the global tech-free movement The Opt-Out Family, Erin has authored The Opt Out Family - How To Give Your Kids What Technology Can't.  This book is written in a way that is part guide, part interactive and best of all i...

 The FBI is warning parents, caregivers, and teens about increased sextortion crimes across the country. The primary target is boys ages 14-17 and sadly, suicide rates due to sextortion are on the rise. Sextortion is  a kind of scam where the suspect gets children to share some sexually explicit material usually  by coercing them, making them think that they're also someone that age and they're go...

Autumn McKay is a childhood educator, author, parent,  and founder of The Best Mom Ideas!  She has navigated the challenges of screen time management with her own kids and faced the very familiar scenario of dealing with tech tantrums and the "10 more minutes" meltdowns. In short, she's one of us!  She's in the trenches. In this episode we talk about steps to take in early child development to fos...

Michael Jacobus figured out how to combine digital wellness with his experiences as a camp director for over 40 years. In the summer of 2018, he started the world's first clinical summer camp program for teens and adolescents suffering from unhealthy screen time, social media use, and gaming addiction.  Reset Summer Camp is a camp for digital detox and life skills. Michael's book: UnHappy Campers...