ScreenStrong Families

It’s common knowledge that boys can struggle with pornography, but do girls struggle with it? Today Melanie is joined by 18-year-old Madi to discuss this exact question. Madi shares her history of porn addiction and her advice for struggling teens and parents.  HOMEWORK: For any girl struggling with porn addiction, Madi’s door is always open! Feel free to email her at sistasinthefight@gmail.com A...

Today Melanie is joined by Cris Rowan, a Pediatric occupational therapist, biologist, speaker, author, and longtime friend of ScreenStrong. In this stellar episode, Melanie and Cris discuss four critical foundational factors for a child's growth, how screens are stunting our kids' growth, as well as screen solutions for home and school. Cris Rowan's Website   Cris Rowan's Blog...

‘Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.’ — Maya Angelou Dr. Adriana Stacey presents to a group of school parents on how devices affect the brains of kids and teens, how technology affects children and teen’s social, emotional, and family growth, and offers tips, solutions, and resources for parents wanting to make a difference and live the ScreenStrong lif...

Melanie is joined by college sophomore Jackson West—age 19—to discuss his addiction to video games and the impact of that addiction on his social life and mental/emotional health. JOIN THE 30-DAY CHALLENGE ON 2/1/23   Join us as we lead you through a 30-day Screen Detox for your family. You will have a step-by-step guide and the help of community. Reserve your spot for FREE today! Support the show...

Happy New Year!  Melanie and Dr. Stacey are helping us start the year on the right foot by sharing some common screen myths and tips for beginning new screen habits in 2023. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW  Adventures of Supe...

Thank you all for listening and engaging with the podcast this year. Here are just a few highlights from our 2022 episodes, and we look forward to continuing to see you in 2023! Happy New Year! Episodes Featured (in order of appearance): "Your Child Hates the Sound of Your Voice, and This is Why" with Erik Goldfield (#121) Welcome 'Glow Kids' Author Dr. Nicholas Kardaras! (#124...

To all our listeners and friends, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from everyone at ScreenStrong! In this bonus episode, Melanie Hempe gives us all a pep talk to stay strong in your screen choices during the pressures of the holidays. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love....

Today, Melanie and Dr. Stacey discuss overcoming the stress, fear, and frustration around screens taking over your holidays. Maybe you’ve been working on the ScreenStrong Challenge with your family and are worried about maintaining screen routines during the holidays. Remember, short moderation times can derail our kids due to the addictive nature of screens—and the holiday season is just enough t...

For this special holiday episode, Melanie is joined by her son Evan to discuss practical holiday gift ideas—and encourage people to skip smartphones and video games as gifts this season. Evan, now a senior in high school, gives his perspective on the highs and lows of wanting a smartphone in middle & high school and shares some of his favorite childhood gifts. Grab your copy of our Non-Tech Gi...

Today, Melanie is joined by Laura Hickman, a 17-year practicing, licensed mental health counselor and mom to three daughters with a front-row seat to the mental health crisis that technology has created in our youth. In Laura's own words, "never before social media did I have clients coming to my office seeking diagnoses and rattling off symptoms from the DSM in hopes that I would tell t...

To all our American friends, happy Thanksgiving from everyone at ScreenStrong! Today is a special bonus episode from ScreenStrong founder, Melanie Hempe, giving us all an important reminder.  Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW ...

In today's emotional episode, we hear from ScreenStrong Mom, Carmen Lindner. Carmen shares her struggle with social media addiction, its effect on her family, and how discovering ScreenStrong changed her life, helping her become a better mom, wife, and friend. Carmen's vulnerability and transparency can inspire anyone suffering through the painful reality of being at the mercy of screens...

Using examples from conversations with parents from her workshops, Melanie Hempe walks through 10 reasons parents cave when it comes to their children's screen use. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW  Adventures of Super Br...

Dr. Adriana Stacey joins Melanie to discuss the importance of a "phone-free car." Together they make some compelling arguments for not allowing teens to drive with smartphones and for parents to be intentional with their teens. They also give some anecdotes on why leaving the smartphone at home might be the best option. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a r...

On this episode, Melanie is joined by Alejandra Correa, and ScreenStrong Ambassador and mom to three young children. They discuss tips for living the ScreenStrong lifestyle, best practices for setting your home up for success, and giving specific reasons why starting your ScreenStrong journey when your kids are young is the best way to go! Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and...

Today, Melanie is joined by Glow Kids author Nicholas Kardaras to discuss his experience with treating video game addiction & social media dependency, as well as discussing childhood brain development. Check out Dr. Kardaras's NEW book ' Digital Madness: How Social Media Is Driving Our Mental Health Crisis—and How to Restore Our Sanity .' Support the show Don't forget to su...

Today, Melanie answers YOUR questions about toxic screen use—video games, social media, pornography—screen use in school, and offers encouragement to make the best screen choices for your family. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND N...

Melanie is joined by Dr. Adriana Stacey to discuss the current research and discourse around 8th grade being the worst age to give a child a smartphone. Together they go through a handful of tips and reasons why this statement is true and encourage parents to stand firm in their screen decisions. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Yo...

Melanie is joined by Erik Goldfield, a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has worked in settings ranging from private practice to hospitals and schools. Erik claims at least 50% of the issues he deals with in his practice are related to screen issues. Today, Erik reveals the truth about the video game rating system, discusses how to teach social-em...

In this episode, Melanie is joined by ScreenStrong Ambassador, Julie Christian, to discuss the many insane ways kids and teens are able to bypass internet and device safeguards. Julie and Melanie share stories from their own experiences as well as those from the ScreenStrong community. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback...

Every organization has a founding story, and ScreenStrong is no different. Today we will hear Melanie give a detailed account of her family's decision to remove smartphones and social media from her younger kids' lives after the mistakes she made with her oldest, Adam. This interview was originally aired on October 5, 2020, on The Save the Kids Podcast. Listen to the first part of our fo...

Melanie is joined by Dr. Adriana Stacey to discuss the current research and discourse around multitasking. Together they make some compelling arguments against multitasking and give some excellent tips to set kids and teens up for success. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you lov...

In today’s episode, Melanie welcomes her longtime friend, Teralea Moore, who is a mother and college math professor with 20+ years of teaching in the classroom. Teralea has taught in high school, community college, and private college settings, and she shares with us her top 10 tips for success in the classroom, at the elementary, high school, and collegiate levels. Support the show Don't for...

Melanie is joined once again by Officer Gomez—School Resource Officer (SRO) and sworn Deputy of the Boise County Sheriff’s Department—to discuss how to remove smartphones from schools. Officer Gomez shares his own school success story and gives some amazing tips for parents and educators alike. Officer Gomez has an active and highly informative Facebook Page that he uses to educate parents on the...

Melanie is joined once again by Dr. Adriana Stacey to discuss their favorite books about brain development and screen addiction. Visit OUR WEBSITE for links to most of the books discussed on this episode. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of th...