Be the parent, please : stop banning seesaws and start banning Snapchat : strategies for solving the real parenting problems

Silicon Valley tech giants design their products to hook even the most sophisticated adults. Imagine, then, the influence these devices have on the developing minds of young people. Touted as tools of the future that kids must master to ensure a job in the new economy, they are, in reality, the culprits, stealing our children’s attention, making them anxious, agitated, and depressed. What’s worse, schools across the country are going digital under the assumption that a tablet with a wi-fi connection is what’s lacking in our education system. Add to that the legion of dangers invited by unregulated access to the internet, and it becomes clear that our screen-saturated culture is eroding some of the essential aspects of childhood. In Be the Parent, Please , former New York Post and Wall Street Journal writer Naomi Schaefer Riley draws from her experience as a mother of three and delves into the latest research on the harmful effects that excessive technology usage has on a child’s intellectual, social, and moral formation. Throughout each chapter, she backs up her discussion with “tough mommy tips”—realistic advice for parents who want to take back control from tech. With the alluring array of gadgets, apps, and utopian promises expanding by the day, engulfing more and more of our lives, Be the Parent, Please is both a wake-up call and an indispensable guide for parents who care about the healthy development of their children. Here, Naomi Schaefer Riley draws from her experience as a mother of three and delves into the latest research on the harmful effects that excessive technology usage has on a child's intellectual, social, and moral formation. Throughout each chapter, she backs up her discussion with "tough mommy tips" -- realistic advice for parents who want to take back control from tech. With the alluring array of gadgets, apps, and utopian promises expanding by the day, engulfing more and more of our lives, this book is both a wakeup call and a guide for parents who care about the healthy development of their children Cover Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION: Screen Time CHAPTER 1: What We Don’t Know Can Hurt Us CHAPTER 2: Babies Aren’t Meant to Be Einsteins CHAPTER 3: Are You Preparing Your Child for School or Las Vegas? CHAPTER 4: Drop the Call—and the Phone While You Are at It CHAPTER 5: The Price of Internet Access Is Eternal Vigilance CHAPTER 6: Think American Education Can’t Get Worse? Put iPads in the Classroom CHAPTER 7: Just Say No CHAPTER 8: Less Technology, More Independence Conclusion Notes Index "Any parent knows the effects of screens on their distracted, cranky, sedentary, and incessantly anxious-about-what-might-be-going-on-without-them kids. Naomi Schaefer Riley brings her experience, research, and no-nonsense candor to help parents prevent the children from falling under the destructive spell of technology"-- Provided by publisher