Media and Tech
Screen time has a high cost that we usually avoid acknowledging. Research shows that people who don't watch TV are happier and healthier, have better self-esteem and a healthier body image, and are less fearful. Families who watch less TV are closer, and kids who see less TV become sexually active at a later age.
When children and teens watch more than one hour of screen time on a daily basis, they are more likely to demonstrate lower psychological well-being, including lower self-control, more distractibility, more difficulty making friends, less emotional stability, being more challenging to care for, inability to finish tasks, and less curiosity. (See this study: Twenge J.M., Campbell W.K. (2018))
Limiting kids' screen use is simple protective parenting.
Start Here:
The First Cell Phone: Rules for Responsibility
It's natural to worry when your child gets their first cell phone. Luckily, communication and supervision dramatically lessen the risks.
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Why Screens Compromise Academics & Values: An Interview
Research shows that the more TV kids watch, the less likely they are to read as they get older. Time spent on the one activity precludes the other.
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Managing Screen Time
Most children are using screens more than before the pandemic. Many parents are wondering how to dial back the screen use.
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Your Toddler or Preschooler and TV
How much screen time should your Toddler or Preschooler have? Are you ready? In my opinion, no daily time on an ongoing basis. Here's why.
Read More"This website is gold!! Just what I needed. None of the other methods of "disciplining" were working for us. These articles are really helping me understand what my son needs. And the way you give specific actions to take, with suggested words! I often find myself thinking when reading about parenting, "But how exactly do I implement that????" I feel like I'm left hanging. This website does not leave me hanging. Thank you! We all want to be awesome parents; we just don't know how." - Lisa Ryder
This is consistently the BEST parenting website out there.
Megan Nida
Yours is the best advice I've found so far on what to do when you, the parent,are angry. Most say something like, "Deal positively with your anger!" which makes me say, "Like HOW?" - Rachel at Milkbreath and Me
"I found Dr. Laura Markham on www.Ahaparenting.com and just the most simple words have helped me to find a better version of myself as a mom and even as a wife. I have written on a wall at home to always choose love, love is patient, love is kind, love protects, love will get me home."
Dr. Laura is a parent whisperer! - Liz McIntosh
Liz McIntosh
Dr. Laura's parenting advice completely changed my relationship with my daughter, improved her self-esteem, and transformed our lives. Providing my daughter with acknowledgement of her feelings and point of view reduced her oppositional behaviors and emotional meltdowns to nearly none. - Jodie Tokatlian
Dr. Laura, you have created miracles, large and small, in so many lives and our children thank you.
Folks, she's brilliant. It's wonderful to have parenting experts who don't see the child as the enemy in a locked combat, for one thing. I recommend it.
I don't even have kids but I subscribe to your blog because you have amazing life lessons, and because I work with an autistic child and your blog really helps me stay grounded, sane, and compassionate with my work. - Mila Kim
Mila Kim
"I'd really recommend Laura Markham's Aha! parenting books and website for brilliantly practical ways to parent with kindness instead of punishment." - Makchoon
Makchoon
I have seen amazing improvement in my *very* angry 17 year-old son after acknowledging that there was a reason he was so angry and acting out. We have had several heartfelt conversations and I have seen a real change in how he treats his younger brother, and how he treats me.
I know that I am a better parent thanks to Dr. Laura's inspirational words and suggestions.
I love AhaParenting because there is always a "pick yourself up and try again" to it. - Chantal Harrison
Chantal Harrison
It's like these emails were meant for me. - Caroline Henry
My daughter reacts so much better when I empathize and stay patient. And now I get to model that behavior instead of letting my frustration get the better of me.
Thank YOU so much for your encouraging emails and Facebook posts!!! Since I began this process, I have noticed a difference in the compassion I show to myself, and how much more that helps me connect with my kids. We are all feeling a lot more overall peace.
Thank you for you weekly emails, blogs, & books. They're a life line when I really need support during a rough patch. - Lisa Fernandez
Lisa Fernandez
Thank you so much for this great advice! You give me ideas for how I can "do it better" and that lifts me up with hope and positivity too!
Today I say thank you, tears streaming from my face, so proud of my little boy and all he will become. Thank you. - Jennifer B.
Jennifer B
Yes. It works. And the more rest I get, the more patience I have. It makes a difference.
