Podcast
Screens are small. Life is big.
Today’s parents have many resources to help them prepare to raise a child, but there’s one book that doesn’t yet exist: What to Expect when you’re (Tech)xpecting! The truth is, we are the first generation of parents pondering questions like “How much screen time is too much? How should I feel about Fortnite? When do I get my child a phone? How should I prepare them for social media?”
We’ve had thousands of conversations with experts and parents, asking how they are navigating this new frontier. Their stories and insights blow us away, encouraging us to stay in the fight for our kids hearts in the online world.
Now, it’s your turn.
In each episode of the Screen Sanity Podcast, our guests will help us dive deep into some of the raw, honest tensions families are facing, and walk through some of the conversations you’ll want to have to prepare your kids for the road ahead. We hope you’ll join us on our journey—because in an increasingly digital world, we all deserve a little Screen Sanity.
Host Krista Boan, Co-Founder of START, is a former middle school teacher, mother of four screen-hungry kiddos, and champion of good-enough parenting.
EPISODES
1: DIGITAL HEALTH
Join us as Tracy Foster, Executive Director of START, shares more about START’s five rules of thumb for digital health…and especially how just like a car, tech comes with great responsibility—and requires an intentional training process.
2: MY TECH-WISE LIFE
This week’s guest is Amy Crouch, co-author of My Tech-Wise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices. (Written with her dad, Andy Crouch.) Amy shares what it was like growing up with digital limits, and encourages families that getting intentional with screens is challenging, yes…but the rewards are worth it.
3: YOUR BRAIN ON SCREENS
One of the best things you can do is help your child understand the impact of screens on your brain—and neurotherapist Susan Dunaway is here to help! Join us for an in-depth discussion of the effects of screens on mental health and brain development, technology during COVID, and video game meltdowns.
4: SCREEN HEALTHY SCHOOLS
Scott Bacon is the principal of Blue Valley High School. Listen in as we discuss the challenges of education in a digital age, the process he went through to establish phone-free classrooms, and the ways that COVID has opened up different opportunities and different thinking for students, parents, and teachers.
5: SOCIAL MEDIA + GIRLS
Amanda Mozea is the Education Outreach Manager at Media Girls, a nonprofit organization helping girls think critically about the role of social media in their lives. Listen in as she shares thoughts about how to raise girls who are ready to swim—not sink—in the ocean of social media.
6: BRING SCREENS TO LIFE
For Actor/Artist/Author Brady Smith, raising kids in Hollywood is about more than just the big screen; it’s about finding balance with your little screen, so you don’t miss out on the biggest screen of all—life. Join us as Brady shares thoughts about the relationship between screens, creativity, and making family memories your kids will always cherish.
7: PORN + PREDATORS
Filmmakers Rob and Zareen Cope are a couple of New Zealander parents who spent a year talking to leading experts around the globe about the hazards our kids face in the online world, and what could be done about them. They share this info in their documentary, “Our Kids Online.” Listen in as we talk about how they’ve handled everything from sleepovers and playdates… to the porn talk.
8: PHONE-FREE ZONES
Angie Daniels is the Program Manager for The Hope Center on the east side of Kansas City, Missouri. There, she works to serve kids in an urban community in the heart of the city. From Pre-K to High School, they work to provide a supportive, family-like atmosphere for kids in this urban community—and phone boundaries are a bit part of their culture. Join us as we gather wisdom from this mother of five kids who grew up in the smartphone revolution.
9: OUR SOCIAL DILEMMA
Max Stossel is the Youth + Education Advisor for The Center for Humane Technology—the organization behind Netflix’s documentary, The Social Dilemma. In this conversation, we get to pick his brain about how to talk to our kids about the “secret sauce” tech companies build into devices and apps to keep us hooked on our screens.
10: THE SMARTPHONE PLUNGE
In this conversation, START team members Adam and Krista reflect on the “smartphone plunge”—that moment when your kids graduate from a limited device like a Gabb phone to a smartphone. Join us as we unpack the process of unboxing and stripping down a new phone, and things we’ve learned along the way.
“[Kids] need to be taught how to think about technology. We do this through modeling and conversations…We keep on guiding and leading, complimenting and correcting, listening and watching with a heart to understand. We keep on noticing what’s right and not just what’s wrong. We keep implementing positive and negative consequences. More than anything, we keep on being present—parenting and learning with them, while knowing that’s a sign of strength, not weakness. We keep on teaching, explaining, being open to their ideas, and answering their questions.”
— kathy koch, screens and teens
