Episode 154: Why Technology Isn’t As Bad for Your Kids As You Think with Jordan Shapiro

written by Kate Northrup

Until quite recently I was firmly in the camp of:

Any amount of screen time my kids have is not optimal.

I’m not a purist when it comes to parenting, and Penelope can watch a show on the weekends and on the days of the week that she’s home.

Even with that small amount, I’ve found myself feeling guilty and like maybe we should be a no-screens-at-any-time house.

Until I was introduced to the book The New Childhood: Raising Kids to Thrive in a Connected World by Jordan Shapiro.

I’ll be honest: I started listening to it with my eyebrows raised, ready to disagree with his ideas that our fear and distrust of technology for our kids is misdirected and, at times, ridiculous.

And then, as he presented his well researched, well thought-out ideas about kids and technology and the fact that we need to raise them to interact with technology in healthy ways, not feel guilty any time they use it, I began to soften.

I could feel my body relax, and I breathed a sigh of relief because it all made so much sense.

We brought Jordan on The Kate & Mike Show to talk about kids and technology because there are so many myths that I personally was buying into, which was causing me unnecessary stress as a parent.

And I know that I’m not the only one.

If you think all screen time for your kids is bad, you’re terrified of them being on social media, or you’re simply looking for some guidance as to how to navigate the increasingly connected world we live in, you’re going to find this episode so helpful.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Why getting your kids on the internet as early as possible is actually the best way to go
How to prevent your kids from becoming screen-glued zombies who don’t respond to your calls for dinner
Why “closed social media” is important for your kids to get in on early and how to facilitate it
The reason people say disrespectful, awful things to each other online and how to ensure our kids don’t do that or fall prey to it
How to teach our kids to navigate a connected world so that they’re thriving, contributing, happy citizens

After you listen, we’d love to hear from you.

What was surprising? What did you learn that proved something you’d previously believed wrong? How are you taking action on what you learned?

Why Technology Isn't As Bad for Your Kids As You Think with Jordan Shapiro

In This Episode

Why Jordan wrote his latest book, and how the subject matter relates to his experience as a dad [7:14]
What he really thinks of the “no screen time before 2 years old” rule [12:10]
How to overcome the guilt and shame that may come with allowing your child to have screen time [20:51]
Jordan’s social media philosophy and why he thinks children should be exposed to it as soon as possible [27:12]
His tips and ideas for traveling with kids and documenting your adventures [31:33]
The role of etiquette online – and where a lot of us are going wrong as adults [36:50]
How artificial intelligence will affect us and what he thinks people are afraid of [39:21]
The importance of mastering today’s advanced tools, and still having a meaningful sense of self in a connected world [43:03]
Jordan’s best advice for parents when it comes to screen time for kids, plus the one question we should be asking ourselves [52:59]