Connected Parent
Today's teenagers spend an average of nine hours per day with their noses immersed in the glow of their screens. Tweens are not far behind, at six hours a day. Parents of this new, ultra-connected generation struggle with decisions completely new to parenting: Should they limit a child's screen time? Should an eight-year old be allowed to go on social media? What about playing video games with strangers? How can we keep them safe from harm when they go online? Are they going to grow up less socially able if their friendships are mostly conducted via text and emojis?
In The Connected Parent, acclaimed childhood development and technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser tackle these and other concerns of parents in the digital age. The book is organized by the topics parents have asked about most often, from screen time and safety to addiction and aggressive behaviour. But rather than pretending to have the only-or even the best-advice for every child and every family, the authors share the evidence as well as their own (sometimes strong) point of view, all in order to empower parents with ground-breaking insights that they can use to inform their approach for their own unique situations.
The outcome of over a decade of research on children and technology conducted at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, The Connected Parent is required reading for any parent trying to help their kids safely navigate the fast-changing, uncharted territory our hyper-connected world.
John Palfrey is president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and a former faculty director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. He previously served as head of school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Urs Gasser is executive director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and a professor of practice at Harvard University. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.