Gold - Screen-Smart Parenting

As a parent who lives much of my life online and is at the same time concerned about my childrens media use, this is the book Ive been waiting for. Here is a nonjudgmental, well-informed voice ringing out from the cacophony of anti-screen hysteria. Dr. Gold spells out in crystal-clear terms how we can help kids build the tech savvy they need to become good digital citizens. Most of all, she has helped me understand that in order to address the concerns many of us share about childrens technology use, parents need to develop healthy digital lives ourselves.

Amy Shearn, parent and novelist

An essential read for any parent or caretaker concerned about the effects of our children being constantly plugged in. Dr. Gold provides invaluable information and guidance, and helps us feel calmer and more comfortable in these heretofore uncharted waters.

Debra Messing, actress and mother

Just as our mothers and fathers worried about too much TV, todays parents worry about their children getting lost in cyberspace.... With Screen-Smart Parenting, Dr. Jodi Gold has provided the milestone book that will give important insights to every parent.

From the Foreword by Tory Burch, CEO, designer, and mother of three

No one understands the digital landscape and its complex presence in our childrens lives better than Jodi Gold. This book is a must read for all parents who want to protect their children while still giving them access to all of the benefits technology has to offer. Dr. Golds realistic approach to navigating the cyberculture is invaluableshe gives easy-to-follow and commonsensical advice. As parents, many of us are new to the digital world, while our children are naturals. This guide gives spot-on strategies for closing that gap and making the whole familys approach to technology effortless.

Holly Phillips, MD, general internist and CBS News Medical Contributor

This book is so great! As parents of a second and a fifth grader, it is challenging and, honestly, scary to always be on top of what content they are accessing, whom they are communicating with, and for how long. Dr. Gold provides practical tools to help us establish digital rules and enforce them consistently. Her writing style is easy to read and digestit is extremely personable and never judgmental... We will definitely refer back to Screen-Smart Parenting often as our daughters grow.

Lisa and Steve Freedman, parents

Dr. Gold gives advice thats clear, practical, and trustworthy. Every parent should have this book to guide them in making decisions so that their childrenfrom newborns to teenscan reap the benefits of technology while avoiding the pitfalls. I am buying extra copies of this book for my sons, who are both raising young kids.

Peg Dawson, EdD, coauthor of Smart but Scattered

Dr. Jodi Gold has written the definitive guide to one of the most challenging issues facing parents today: raising kids in a digital age. Drawing on her wealth of experience as a mother and psychiatrist, Dr. Gold provides parents with a blueprint on how to cultivate wise media use at every stage of a childs development. Thoughtful, well researched, and fun to read, this is a book that all parents should have at the top of their reading list. Urgently needed and extremely practical, it is a godsend.

Ellen Braaten, PhD, author of Bright Kids Who Cant Keep Up

Dr. Gold provides a comprehensive framework that parents can rely on as they face this new, dynamic, and critical parenting challenge of our time.

Karen L. Bierman, PhD, Child Study Center and Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University

THE GUILFORD PRESS
New York London

Epub Edition ISBN: 9781462518791; Kindle Edition ISBN: 9781462518807

2015 The Guilford Press

A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.

72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012

www.guilford.com

All rights reserved

The information in this volume is not intended as a substitute for consultation with healthcare professionals. Each individuals health concerns should be evaluated by a qualified professional.

Except as noted, no part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gold, Jodi.

Screen-smart parenting : how to find balance and benefit in your childs use of social media, apps, and digital devices / by Jodi Gold.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4625-1553-0 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-4625-1794-7 (hardcover)

1. Internet and children. 2. Parenting. 3. Social media. I. Title.

HQ784.I58G65 2015

649'.1dc23

2014022753

The names, characteristics, and details of individuals described and quoted in this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

To Mitch, Jackson, Carter, and Samantha
thank you for your love and support

Like most people, I read a lot of parenting books after I had my three boys. These books help parents understand and recognize the different milestones that mark their childrens growth. None of the child development books I read covered digital technology, a pervasive influence in the world today.

Just as our mothers and fathers worried about too much TV, todays parents worry about their children getting lost in cyberspace. We all wonder if technology will diminish their intellectual curiosity and if interest in digital games will supersede interest in real-life interaction. Safety and privacy are also an enormous concern. I always went back and forth about the age at which I would allow my children to engage with digital devices and social media.

With Screen-Smart Parenting, Dr. Jodi Gold has provided the milestone book that will give important insights to every parent. Dr. Gold understands what it means to raise children in a world that is so different from the one in which she grew up, but as a physician and psychiatrist specializing in children and adolescents, she has an advantage over most parents. Her advice is to focus on whats developmentally appropriate, and to pay attention to the way our children interact with social and digital media. Its important not to completely deny access, but there should be balance and moderation. Our children need to know how to navigate this new worldand, as parents, we need to know how to guide them and make the Internet a source of positive experiences.

Screen-Smart Parenting provides a blueprint for parents today. Dr. Gold has mapped out the digital milestones and given families the tools they need to help them help their children stay on the track. In a time when there is always a new device or platform just around the corner, Dr. Golds book is a relevant and timely addition to any parents library.

T ORY B URCH

CEO and designer

Mother of three

Screen-Smart Parenting has been like a fourth child to me. It has been a labor of love, sweat, and tears. I never would have had the strength and courage to write this book without the support of my parents, Rochelle and Bob, who instilled in me a genuine respect and awe for technology and innovation and taught me the grit and perseverance needed to complete a book.