How to move towards a smartphone free childhood

Nip in the Bud® Podcast - The children's mental health health charity

We're joined by GP and mother of two teenage daughters and a twelve-year-old son, Dr Davies to discuss moving towards a smartphone free childhood. Five years ago, when deciding how to manage smartphones within her own family, Dr Davies founded the charity PAPAYA (Parents Against Phone Addiction in Young Adolescents).

PAPAYA aims to educate and empower parents on the mental health problems associated with smartphones and social media, and to help parents work together when navigating how they can delay technology with their children.
In this podcast we discuss common issues and concerns that arise when children have access to smartphones and social media at a young age. Susie talks about her experience as a GP coming across the mental health issues linked to unlimited phone, social media and internet use. And her experience as a mother dealing with the challenging parenting approaches that are required to keep your child safe, happy and healthy as they grow and develop.
We cover themes such as phone addiction, gaming disorder, accessibility to porn and the impact on the developing child, and cyber bullying. She goes into detail about how all of these can impact negatively on our children's mental health and how parents and professionals can work together to protect our children from these issues and support them to navigate the online world safely and age appropriately.
Her book, The Healthy Selfie, is due out in Autumn 2024 and if you sign up to the PAPAYA website you can find out how to purchase it.

PAPAYA - parents against phone addiction in young adolescents:
https://www.papayaparents.com/
Nip in the Bud Blog -
https://nipinthebud.org/blog/
Join our mailing list. -
https://nipinthebud.org/join-our-mailing-list/
Jonathan Haidt - The Anxious Generation
https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book
Anna Freud - Mentally Healthy Schools -
https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/factors-that-impact-mental-health/school-based-risk-factors/bullying-and-cyberbullying/
Order your copy of The Healthy Selfie: www.thehealthyselfie.co.uk (use discount code PAPAYA

Nip in the Bud - Where to get help

https://nipinthebud.org/where-to-get-help/

Chapter

1. How to move towards a smartphone free childhood (00:00:00)

2. What is PAPAYA parents? (00:02:09)

3. Mental health problems and the use of technology (00:02:37)

4. The healthy selfie book (00:03:30)

5. Effect of technology on all areas of our lives (00:04:29)

6. Comparison between parents (00:05:44)

7. What is Papaya parents all about (00:08:38)

8. How to empower young people to understand the impact of technology (00:10:13)

9. How can parents get schools involved? (00:11:09)

10. Review the school phone policy (00:11:54)

11. What would a thriving family look like? (00:13:03)

12. Taking the positive bits of tech and using it to thrive as a family (00:13:56)

13. How can tech serve us? (00:14:29)

14. How can co-parenting bring challenge to smartphone use? (00:17:14)

15. Is there a lowering of self-esteem with social media? (00:18:27)

16. The longer the screen time, the more likely children can suffer from mental health problems (00:19:25)

17. Johnathan Haidt - The anxious generation (00:19:29)

18. Is it important to start young in teaching how to use smartphones? (00:21:21)

19. What is in my child's best interest? (00:23:31)

20. How does dopamine get triggered by screens? (00:24:16)

21. What is phone addiction? (00:24:29)

22. Observe and talk to your child about screen time to protect them (00:30:04)

23. Do young people have to be on social media? (00:31:14)

24. Is it too late to make a change? (00:31:38)

25. What is cyber bullying? (00:32:18)

26. How can you stop being a victim? (00:36:13)

27. What is gaming disorder? (00:38:51)

28. What is the connection between screen availability and porn in children? (00:40:50)

29. What is the affect of porn on our children and young people? (00:42:00)

30. How can I add a parental control app to my child's phone? (00:45:53)

31. How can we maintain hope for the future around this area? (00:49:20)