Opt-Out? Can I really do that? My child doesn’t HAVE to use a device at school?”

If you'd like to improve your child's mental health it might be time to take a closer look not just at their device usage, but also at their internet usage.

Emily Cherkin M.Ed. aka the Screentime Consultant shows her framework or countering the damage and misguided information surrounding EdTech in schools.

This essay's advice aims to awaken the desire and teach how to utilize the last 4 years of college to become a fully rounded person and member of society.

Emily Cherkin M.Ed. on why resisting EdTech in schools protects both childhood and democracy. Not all change is progress. Screen time isn't the answer.

Emily Cherkin M.Ed. shares urgent concerns about Generative AI in schools and how screen time harms learning, privacy, and critical thinking.

20 year old historic whiteboards were destroyed without consent from schools in Seattle Washington; replaced by digital screens. A blog by Emily Cherkin

When discussing EdTech in schools, in terms of harms to children and threats to democracy, we must answer three important questions. A blog by Emily Cherkin

Relect on your family as these stories show just how much technology has taken from each of us. Written by Emily Cherkin, M.Ed. The Screentime Consultant.

A FAQ detailing the manifold dangers of compromising our children's digital privacy, including children's data being sold to law enforcement.

Emily details social media's vicious feedback loop that makes me people and afraid and keeps them doomscrolling. She connects it to surveilling children.

Emily speaks about the dangers of EdTech and the growing equity divide between those who are able to log off & those who are compelled to remain on devices.

Emily talks about judgments, even from children, are an opportunity to be curious and learn from our mistakes.

Emily and her cousin Megan bond over their shared values and different religions.

Emily details the significant risks and harms that come with signing those EdTech contracts for administrators and educators.

Emily details the harms that EdTech accomplishes while harvesting data.

Emily talks about the antedote to the screentime problem, relationships, not screens.

Emily details the pitfalls of AI and EdTech

Emily tells about her recent experience teaching at middle school for a day.

Emily shows how tech-intentionality differs from being anti-tech.

A satire article replacing words in "school issued device policies" with language about children driving school buses.

Advice for tech policies in your home if you decide to buy your child a smart device.

Emily details why iPads shouldn't be in school, and what they should be replaced by - relationships and teachers.

Emily speaks about how screens prevent self-regulation, rather than promote it. She offers alternative techniques for self-regulating.

Emily elucidates why teaching on EdTech platforms is not teaching children technology and offers suggestions for HOW to teach technology.

Emily details the connection between EdTech's privacy violations and negative impact on children and how it is a risk to democracy.

Emily describes the difference between teaching about A.I. and "teaching" with A.I.

Emily debunks the myths around the pros of children having smartphones in schools

Emily details the defines bullying, details the differences between it and cyberbullying, and shows us what we can do about it.

Attorney Julie Liddell details a family's rights around EdTech, what to ask your school administration and next steps if they refuse to opt you out.

Emily describes the whole process of hosting a presentation for a school or other parent group.

Parents can say no to EdTech and opt their children out of it. The more we do push for tech-intentional education, the more people will join us.

We know that Ed Tech is, in general, harmful. But what is going on in your child's school? Here are some questions to ask your administrators to find out.

EdTech Surveillance has been created to solve problems that wouldn't exist if we just got rid of EdTech and went back to relationship based teaching.

Emily discusses edtech and how your child's data is being exposed and the risks to your child when using edtech and other educational software

Lisa LeVasseur provides a layman's description of SDKs and what risks to privacy they bring

Patti regales us with her multi-continent search for a tech-intentional school

Emily details why she is opting her daughter out of EdTech in her school.

Since the advent of EdTech, children's curiosity and test scores have plummetted.

If you’ve ever fought with your kid about turning off the iPad, putting down the phone, or stopping a video game, you’re in good company.

Detailing what a phone free childhood truly entails

Schools are making the use of tech an all or nothing proposition. We need nuance.

Phone pouches are good step, but put the onus on the wrong people.

When advocacy about screentime in schools began, we were concerned about education. Now we're in this to save the lives of our children.

Social media has only exacerbated the drama that is (and goes beyond) the developmental norm for middle schoolers. Here’s why it’s so hard to combat.

Parenting in the digital age is a deeply complicated problem with nuance. Here are the problems parents struggle with the most.

Think what you will about the good or the evils of tech (and there are many of both). But don’t forget about the teachers.

A five-second search showed me how to “hack” the restrictions put on school-issued devices.

"Away for the Day" is gaining momentum, but it's only solving half the problem. The other half? Ed Tech.

Here’s how one Idaho district took the leap, adopted a phone-free policy, and saw huge benefits almost immediately.

Ten years ago, I knew I was ready for a change from the classroom. I didn’t know that a life-altering event would send me in an entirely new direction.

Emily’s testimony on the risks and drawbacks of EdTech as it pertains to childhood development, learning, and data privacy.

We must talk to our kids about the birds, the bees, and the bad stuff, too. It’s not a matter of IF they will see things. It’s WHEN.

There is a growing trend among families, especially those with younger children, who see a smartwatch as a safe precursor to the smartphone.

Overprotective parenting does more harm than good. One of the most important gifts we can give our children is opportunities to struggle (not suffer).

We’re worrying about the wrong thing when it comes to AI in education. Here’s what we should be worried about.

Studies are showing that too much screentime is not good for kids. But how we solve the problem is (and should be) nuanced.

Let’s explore the documented differences between technology-based play and traditional play – and how they impact childhood development.

Before we change a single thing about screentime in our homes, we need to start by identifying our family’s top values.

Scary things often make the headlines, but they are rare. Some common situations are truly dangerous; in the digital age, it's hard to know which is which.

Today, January 31, 2024, Big Tech executives testified in front of members of Congress about their exploitative business practices.

A Tech-Intentional™ parent will prioritize three things for healthy development: executive function skills, movement and play, and empathy and compassion.

Let's talk how persuasive design took over the tech industry. The father of persuasive technology is B.J. Fogg, an adjunct professor at Stanford.

The post-screentime meltdown is the hardest part of parenting in the digital age. Creating a plan ahead of time can help us respond more effectively.

I believe that screentime is not a one-size-fits-all issue. Families with different values will have different rules – and that’s a good thing!

In my experience, families with the healthiest balance with screen use often have several characteristics in common.

“Where did my kid learn that word?” Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – and why we need to be mindful of our own screen use.

Today, when our children say they are bored, our common response is to hand over a screen. Screentime will kill boredom, but it will also kill creativity.

Piaget is best known for creating stages for neurotypical child development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

The best approach to setting our children up for success lies in prioritizing key areas of development before exposing them to screentime.

You know that moment when your kid is driving you nuts and suddenly, you open your mouth, and you hear your mother’s words and voice tumble out?

Parents who come to me with that question hope that parental controls will be the answer to all their problems. 

Big Tech’s secret weapon is something called persuasive design, and it’s the biggest difference between our childhood and our children’s current reality.

We want our children to experience independence, and yet our own fears stifle opportunities for our children to stretch their metaphorical legs.

Whether a child goes looking for it or not, a scroll through TikTok or a recommended algorithm on YouTube will take them to horrifying imagery.

When we prevent our children from experiencing difficult moments, are we really ensuring their safety?

After twelve years of classroom work and fifteen years of parenting, I’ve come to realize that a “good” middle school experience is not about fewer bumps.

Today, the landscape has transformed. Most American children now spend some part of their school day on a laptop or tablet.

If you are a parent or in any way connected to the well-being of children, you absolutely must read what Gillian has to say. 

You want a quick fix solution. You want to dial back the stress and mess that comes with kids and screentime. 

I don’t scroll aimlessly “for business” - I do it because it grabs my attention and keeps me interested (see: persuasive design).

At the end of the school year, my tween wrote an essay about why kids shouldn't have social media.

So should you share a phone with your tween? I can’t say for sure if it will work for you. But I would recommend it over a smartphone.

No parent likes to hear that their child is miserable, but because he had his phone, he could let us know how awful it was in real time.

If you have Parental Controls that work for you, great. Most don't and here's why.

Max can be hard to read sometimes. He appears calm, cool, and collected, but it’s hard to tell what other emotions he is masking.

“I talk to hundreds of parents: not one has ever said to me, ‘I wish I gave my kid a phone sooner or social media at a younger age.’"

Some of my favorite parenting moments have happened on the way to dance class or school dropoff.

We have to stop thinking that social media is just TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram.

These kids are stressed out. Mostly with homework and projects and tests.

Think Your Kid Won’t Get Porn in their DMs?

Our Kids Are Listening, Even When They Roll Their Eyes.

Understanding the challenges around screen use in schools today is complicated. There are really three simultaneous problems...

Handing tweens personal devices actually increases FOMO, exacerbates cruelty, and requires a lot of time and emotional energy to keep up.

Today’s latest technological panic is about ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool designed to interact with humans.

I don’t recommend parental controls. Mostly, I recommend parenting. But that doesn't mean you should delete them if they work for you.

A Tech-Intentional Parenting Manifesto

An Open Letter to Big Tech From an Outraged Parent

I’m 43. I made a fake Snapchat account pretending to be a 15-year-old to test Snapchat's algorithm.

I often say that September 11th was the day I became a grown-up. Much of the trauma didn’t arrive until much later, of course, as it so often does.

That Battle You’re Having With Your Kid Over Screens? It’s Not a Fair Fight. (But Here Are 3 Things Parents Can Do.)

This Is Not Sustainable. Parents, It Is Time To Act.

There is a lot of healing that needs to happen, globally, environmentally, politically, yes, but it starts in our homes, with us.

When Your Kids See Porn on Their School-Issued Device, Guess Who Is Responsible? Hint: It’s Not the School District.

A colleague told me that we can be “rocks in the river” for our children: solid, present, allowing the water to flow past us without taking us down too.

The focus should not be “catching up” on content but a rethinking of the industrialized model of education.