Episode 91: Screens, Stress and Sleep: Parenting Through the Digital Age
In this insightful and reflective episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, we dive deep into Jonathan Haidt’s provocative and widely discussed book, The Anxious Generation. Host [Your Name], a psychologist and parent, shares a heartfelt and honest review of the book, exploring its key arguments, research foundations, and real-world implications for today’s families—especially those raising neurodivergent children.
From initial panic to practical reflection, [Your Name] discusses how Haidt’s core message—that smartphones and social media have fundamentally reshaped childhood—resonated personally and professionally. You’ll hear about the dramatic shift in children’s lives around 2010, as play-based, outdoor experiences gave way to screen-dominated, indoor ones, and how this shift has coincided with alarming rises in anxiety, depression, and social disconnection—especially among girls.
This episode covers:
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What Haidt gets right: the importance of unstructured play, the dangers of constant connectivity, the science behind sleep and screen use, and the growing mental health challenges in young people.
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Where the book may fall short: overemphasis on screens as the sole cause of rising anxiety, lack of attention to other societal pressures, and missing nuance for neurodivergent kids.
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How these insights apply specifically to ADHD and autistic children, who may rely more heavily on screens for connection, regulation, and learning.
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Practical tools and mindset shifts for parents, including collaborative screen boundaries, digital nutrition vs. restriction, and modeling healthy tech habits.
Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by the screen-time battle, curious about how to raise your kids in a digital age, or wondering how to support neurodivergent children in navigating online life, this episode offers thoughtful perspective, personal anecdotes, and evidence-informed guidance.
Parent Like a Psychologist is about meeting parents where they are, with empathy, clarity, and strategies that work in the real world—not just the ideal one. So if you’ve ever threatened to bring back the Nokia just to keep your sanity (guilty!), this episode is for you.
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