ScreenStrong Families

How is it August already? In this episode, Melanie is joined by Olivia Kernekin—a member of our staff and ScreenStrong Ambassador—to discuss back-to-school tips regarding personal screens in the classroom and how to establish healthy habits to start the school year right. Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us brin...

Every organization has a founding story, and ScreenStrong is no different. Today we will hear Melanie give a detailed account of her family's struggle with video game addiction—in the form of her oldest son, Adam. To hear Adam give a first-hand account of his story, check out THIS EPISODE . This interview was originally aired August 20, 2020, on The Save the Kids Podcast. Support the show Don...

Melanie is joined by Dr. Catharine McClure Jackson to discuss the benefits of musical study on brain and social development, and actively choosing to replace screen time with developing musical skills. Dr. Jackson received her undergraduate degree from the Peabody Conservatory, her Masters from the University of South Carolina, and her Doctorate in Music from the University of Iowa. This episode w...

Melanie welcomes back Officer David Gomez, a School Resource Officer (SRO) and sworn Deputy of the Boise County Sheriff’s Department. Today, Officer Gomez discusses the destructive nature of Snapchat and its secret features that parents may not know. He also explains how students get around school Firewalls and encourages parents to stay the course when it comes to screen issues. Officer Gomez has...

Melanie is joined once again by Dr. Adriana Stacey to discuss the dangerous combination of smartphones and sleepovers, and how to navigate childhood activities while still living the ScreenStrong Lifestyle.  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...

Today, Melanie is joined by Dr. Brett Kennedy, co-director of the Digital Media Treatment & Education Center and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with adolescents, adults, and couples. Dr. Kennedy and Melanie discuss the history of video games, how video games specifically meet boys' needs, and tips for helping your son through a video game detox....

Melanie shares ScreenStrong's tried-and-true advice for loving your gamer through a screen detox. From setting firm boundaries to spending quality time with your spouse, you won't want to miss these helpful tips! 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! G...

Today, Melanie is joined by ScreenStrong mom, Mary Laird Garrison, to discuss screen tips for young children, being intentional with screen time, and encouraging parents to put down their own devices and live out the ScreenStrong Lifestyle for their kids. 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...

Today we welcome back Dr. Adriana Stacey,  a Board Certified Psychiatrist, for part two of her discussion with Melanie. In this episode they cover why going cold-turkey with screen removal may be the best option for your family and offer tips and tricks for handling addictive behavior. Dr. Stacey's areas of specialty include female mental health treatment, including treatment of depression, a...

Today we welcome Dr. Adriana Stacey,  a Board Certified Psychiatrist to discuss screen ADHD in kids and the destructive nature of smartphones on children's brain. Dr. Stacey's areas of specialty include female mental health treatment, including treatment of depression, anxiety, adult ADHD, insomnia, and sports psychiatry.  Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave...

After the heinous elementary school massacre in Uvalde, TX last week, ScreenStrong invited Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a West Point Psychology Professor and author of Assassination Generation, to discuss the link between video game addiction and school violence that few are talking about. This is a heartbreaking but absolutely necessary episode to check out. Support the show Don't forget to subsc...

Today Melanie welcomes Becky Grant, an elementary school teacher of 11 years, a ScreenStrong Ambassador, and mom of two boys. Becky shares her family’s story with us, which she acknowledges is likely very similar to many other families’ stories of navigating a screen-saturated culture. She offers her story with the wish to provide hope, encouragement, and support for other families having doubts a...

Melanie is joined once again by Dr. Leonard Sax, an American psychologist, and a practicing family physician. Dr. Sax has spoken on child and adolescent development issues in schools and communities worldwide since 2001. He is the author of numerous books and publications, including The Collapse of Parenting , one of ScreenStrong’s most recommended books. Did you know that TikTok is the #1 most vi...

In this episode, Melanie is joined by our Brand Manager, Anna Wight to give a lesson-by-lesson preview of our new Kids’ Brains & Screens and ScreenStrong Solution Courses. This content deep-dive will give you an idea of what to expect in these courses and encourage you to take the step towards becoming a ScreenStrong Family. Kids’ Brains & Screens Course Lesson 1: Building Healthy Brains L...

We’ve made it to 100 EPISODES !!! Thank you all for listening and supporting us. We couldn’t do this without your community support. Today Melanie is joined by Ellen Cotton, a longtime friend of ScreenStrong and living the ScreenStrong Lifestyle. She and Melanie present 100 unique tips to help you on your ScreenStrong journey and share personal stories about the ups and downs of reclaiming your ki...

Today Melanie welcomes Laura Wurzburger, a ScreenStrong Ambassador, and a mom of two adopted children from China. Laura shares her inspiring and vulnerable story of her family's journey to enrich their lifestyle by changing technology use in their home. She shares and acknowledges the mistakes and unhealthy habits she and her husband created in raising their children and what they learned whi...

Today Melanie welcomes Ben O'Sullivan, a new ScreenStrong Ambassador based in Australia.  Ben has worked in education as a teacher's aide for over 5 years now and is soon to be expanding his role as a school chaplain. He has also worked with youths in church groups and is presently working on a bachelor's degree in counseling.  Ben shares his perspective on the changes influenced by...

Join us in today's episode where Melanie unpacks the myth of the forbidden fruit. This myth is based on the theory that if you limit an activity that your children desperately want, they will long for it even more, it will make it more appealing, and they will binge on technology when they are older and/or in college.  Melanie emphasizes that ScreenStrong is not about supporting the removal o...

Join us today as Melanie welcomes Zachary Church, a High School Varsity Swim Coach and an Assistant Coach for a Cross Country Track and Field Program. His main purpose in coaching is to “make a positive impact on individual lives, especially teenagers.” Zach shares with us his unique perspective on the impact of screen use by teenagers in his role as a coach at his High School and in the community...

Today Melanie welcomes Ali Pfister, one of ScreenStrong’s Ambassadors, who shares her journey of creating her family’s ScreenStrong Lifestyle. Ali and her husband have four young kids under the age of 10 and they have been living ScreenStrong for about 3 years now.  Ali shareS how she began educating herself when her second son was identified with a speech delay at the age of 18 months to learn ho...

Today, Melanie welcomes Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright, marriage and family therapists and the co-authors of The Happy Sleeper and the forthcoming Generation Sleepless: Why Tweens and Teens Aren’t Sleeping Enough and How We Can Help Them . Heather Turgeon, MFT writes about child development and parenting. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others, and she...

Today Melanie welcomes Joel May, a Youth Pastor and a Director of Youth Ministries at a local church in North Carolina. One of the unique things about Joel is that he was raised without a smartphone or video games. This lack of toxic technology growing up allowed for him to develop his identity independent of others or needing external validation through social media. He found his identity through...

Today, Melanie welcomes back Dr. Richard Freed, author of Wired Child and a practicing Clinical Psychologist and supervisor studying the effects of technology on children. He is on the advisory board of ScreenStrong and is a contributor to many well-respected publications. A link to Dr. Freed’s article, The Tech Industry’s War on Kids, is included in the show notes.  Melanie asks Richard to provid...

For today’s episode, Evan and Andrew Hempe respond to common questions from parents about toxic screen use, drawing from their own experiences growing up without video games, smartphones, or social media. Evan and Andrew are Juniors in high school who are enjoying and thriving on living a full ScreenStrong lifestyle. They are both active in multiple extracurricular activities, including sports and...

In this episode, Melanie tackles two of the most common issues concerning smartphones and your kids and teens: the age of 13 as the "appropriate age" of having a smartphone and the concept of phone contracts.  For the first issue, Melanie responds to the question of "Why do parents believe that 13 has become the new age of adulthood on the internet?" The answer may surprise you...