News
07/21/20 - The Family Online Safety Institute. Digital wellness becomes more and more important every single day. The amount of time kids are spending online is inching upward and nearing 9 hours per day. It’s hard to disagree - our kids need less screens and more experiences in real life.
We have a chance to use this summer to reset, to develop healthier habits, to put screens away and do something else. And we are here to help with two easy steps (Keeping reading...)
06/11/20 - Wall Street Journal - Pandemic Brings Out Kids’ Sneaky Side
03/10/20 - The Family Online Safety Institute. Many of us who work on the frontlines with kids and families are not panicked about tech, but concerned. And rightly so. As both the Founder of Turning Life On and a parent, I read endless research studies, regularly interact with struggling parents and kids, and share information with professionals in the field. I have yet to meet someone who isn't concerned about the negative (keep reading…)
02/05/20 - Gabb Wireless: I first became a parent back in 2006, and, boy, I sure was naive about how hard parenting was going to be. And that was before Steve Jobs released the first iPhone. I was lucky. I had real, live friends to distract me, console me, and offer me advice. I saw them regularly. In. Real. Life. We talked about first foods and first steps and poop. We laughed together. A lot. As our kids have grown from tiny babies to busy toddlers, through preschool and elementary school into middle school, we need support more than ever. We need a way to come together. Because now, the stakes are much higher (keep reading…)
1/16/20 - The Family Online Safety Institute. Keeping Kids Safe Online. Before the holiday, news outlets broke stories of widespread sexual predation of children on popular social media and gaming sites. According to the New York Times, some virtual connections escalate to sexual… (keep reading…)
12/17/19 - The Family Online Safety Institute: Keeping Tech in Check in Education. School web portals, Notability, Google classroom, Quizlet, IXL… Education has now moved online. There is concern that screens in education are affecting children’s acquisition and understanding of knowledge, in addition to their physical and mental health. As parents, we must… (keeping reading…)
10/01/19 - The Family Online Safety Institute in DC asked us to be a guest contributor for their blog. You can read that entry here.
07/06/19 - Now Some Families Are Hiring Coaches to Help Them Raise Phone-Free Children, New York Times. Nellie Bowles looks into a new trend of parents hiring coaches to help manage kids’ tech use. Do you need to spend the money? We offer suggestions for free. Stay tuned for our response.
5/8/19 - Turning Life On launches for parents, educators - Concord Journal
4/28/19 - Should Parents Pledge as a Group to Delay Giving Smartphones to Their Children? Concord Promise and TLO partner Dr. Richard Freed argued in favor of such pacts, citing research and the effects of screens on not just the child who has the phone but those who do not.
Alexandra Samuel presented a counter-opinion claiming this approach is a one-size-fits-all solution that does more harm than good. Check out our response here.
12/10/18 - Initiatives to Help You Moderate or Delay Kid Tech Use. Smartphone use is now a fact of life for kids. Ninety-five percent of teens ages 13 to 17 say they have a smartphone or access to one, according to the latest data from the Pew Research Center, and 45% report being online “almost constantly.” The most popular online platforms: YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. Keep reading…
10/19/18 - WBZ - It Happens Here: Concord’s Push To Revolutionize Kids And Phones