A majority, 83% of parents think U.S. kids’ mental health is getting worse, according to the National Poll on Children’s Health by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan.
And many blame screens: three-quarters of respondents identify both social media and general device use as major problems for U.S. youth, while 66% specifically point to internet safety.
Health and science journalist Catherine Price, who has a 10-year-old daughter herself, agrees with her fellow parents. Every minute kids are spending on screens is a minute they’re not “developing real world skills or real world relationships or having real world experiences,” she says.
Price recently teamed up with “The Anxious Generation” author Jonathan Haidt to write a book about screens and social media use for tweens. It’s called “The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World.” And she has a few suggestions for parents who want to quell their kids’ device use.
Here’s what she recommends.
