Episode 79: Screen smart tips for younger kids with guest, Nicole Rawson

The Be THAT Mom Movement Podcast: Protecting kids in a digital world

This episode features an interview with Nicole Rawson, the founder of Screentime Clinic, a coaching network to help families navigate all the digital things, and the author of the book, Screen Smart Sam Battles the Bad Habit Monsters. Nicole is the mom of two teens, and has walked the walk of learning the hard way on how screens impact our kids, as so many of us in this space have done.

You can find more info about her and her mission as well as purchase the book at https://screensmartfamilies.org/ or on Amazon HERE.

DIGITAL WELLNESS SUMMIT: LIVE SEPT 25 & 26, 2021 GRAB YOUR TICKET HERE!!

FREE DOWNLOAD: Tips for using Bark + Digital Resources

FREE DOWNLOAD: Digital Resources

For all my top tips & tools go to https://www.dollydenson.com/store

DIGITAL RESOURCE TOOLS:

BARK subscription CLICK HERE (Use code BETHATMOM for 20% off & 7 day free trial)

Pinwheel phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOMTEN for a discount!)

Gabb phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount)

Tick Talk Watch CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount)

Covenant Eyes CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount)

Gryphon Router CLICK HERE

Circle Plus CLICK HERE (click link for $20 off)

Bark Home CLICK here!!

Stay connected with the Be THAT Mom Movement via our channel in the Telegram app: Subscribe HERE or search for @bethatmom on the app. Or on social media via instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_bethatmommovement

MOM WELLNESS TOOLS:

Fit Club info: Being THAT mom isn’t easy, so prioritizing our own wellness is so important! Get tips and tools plus support to help you simplify and align your health/wellness through fitness & nutrition tools that will get you results and to be strong and energetic for your kids! For more info on these tools & the Align Your Life Fit Club, CLICK HERE!!

Have a fitness routine that works for you but need to level up your nutrition? Ensure you get your daily nutrition with the powerful and unmatched smoothie called Shakeology CLICK HERE to learn more. (Available by itself or combined with what I like to call the Netflix for fitness/wellness library. CLICK HERE for the top options that save you $$$ when getting started with ALL the tools to get you that crucial momentum to make this a routine that sticks!)

Other supplements I highly recommend

(for informational purposes only, not medical advice, consult with your healthcare provider for questions and to get recommendations specific to your health conditions)

Concerned for toxin/mold/parasite exposure & how to support your immune system in today’s world? I highly recommend Cell Core products, using humic/fulvic acid and natural herbs and minerals to support you at the cellular level, as your one stop shop for detoxing your body while supporting your immune system at the gut level and beyond. Check out the products and protocols available at https://www.cellcore.com and use practitioner code yaCPzYmn to purchase. Connect with me for questions and guidance. These products are game changers for clearing out the unwanted things and getting your immune system in tip top shape!

Paleovalley CLICK HERE (use code PVFRIEND15 for a discount)

My Soul CBD CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount)

MitoLife supplements CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount)

Magnesium Bicarbonate supplement by LIVE PRISTINE (the majority are deficient in magnesium AND if taking Magnesium, are taking a form other than this that is not bioavailable and readily absorbed!) Use code BETHATOM for a discount! CLICK HERE

MOM HUSTLE TOOLS:

Kajabi: The best platform to run your business with all the things in one place! CLICK HERE

Podcast Pro University CLICK HERE to learn more about the top podcast course, created by Stef Gass, that will help you take that idea and passion to the next level with a podcast of your own!

Health/Wellness Coach opportunity!! Focus on your own wellness through fitness/nutrition while inviting a few friends to join you and/or build your own brand as a wellness coach with Team Beachbody: Email me at [e-mail] for more info!

Full Transcription:

Speaker 1 (00:00):

So as we know the influence of the digital things starts at any age that we put a device in the hands of a child. So today's episode is going to highlight a friend of mine who is on the same mission as me, for helping moms and families to navigate this world of so many interconnected, digital things. Stay tuned for an interview with Nicole Rawson, from Screentime clinic and the author of the book screen smart Sam battles, the bad habit monsters stay tuned.

Speaker 2 (00:38):

Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson.

Speaker 1 (01:04):

Holy moly. Check this out. If you are a mom that is looking to give your kiddo a phone, but you don't want to open up the world of the smartphone to them yet, check out the pinwheel phone. The pinwheel phone is the latest and greatest for dumb smartphones. It gives you absolute control over what they do and who they can contact, and we'll help them to develop healthy habits around using a phone, check out [e-mail] use code be that mom 10 for a discount. So before we get started with chatting with Nicole, I just want to give you a heads up that there's only link in the show notes for accessing the digital wellness education summit. This is going to go live on September 25th, and there are different versions of tickets that you can purchase, where you can access the content in real time. Or you can have an all access pass in order to listen to it at a later time and in different versions.

Speaker 1 (01:56):

So please check this out. If you're a parent, if you're an educator, if you have any interaction with children, you have to get this information and listen to it and take it to heart because our children are our future and the digital things absolutely do have an impact. And as long as we are staying on the forefront of awareness and working together in our village to surround our children and move forward as things evolve and change and ever changing influence on our kids, we need to have this information at our fingertips. So check out the link in the show notes for the digital wellness education summit. It is an amazing resource that I want you to have access to. I am not the only speaker in it. There are, I believe, 13 of us plus the two co-hosts. And it's just a great resource for you to have, and to be able to kind of wrap your mind around all of the things digital and how it's influencing our children.

Speaker 1 (02:49):

So please check that out in the show notes. Okay. So today we're going to get rolling on an interview that I did with Nicole Ross and she is the founder of screen-time clinic. She is a former teacher and has two children that are in upper teenage years. She has walked this path very similar to mine where we kind of didn't know what was going on. We saw the influence of things, and we decided to turn our struggle into strength and offer this gift back to the world. So I hope you enjoy this interview I had with Nicole and that you find this helpful and that you will get this book as a resource for you and your kids or someone, you know, in your life that is having kids or has grandkids, whatever it may be. If you have kids, you need this book. Okay. So let's check it out. So today we have Nicole and she is the author as screen smart Sam battles, the bad habit monsters. And so I just wanted to talk to her today and introduce her to all of you so that you can learn more about what she has to offer and this amazing book that she has written. So thanks so much for joining me today. I am so glad that you're here.

Speaker 3 (03:51):

Oh, thanks for having me on. This was really fun to talk and I love your podcast. Thanks for all you do for getting the information out there to everybody.

Speaker 1 (04:00):

Yes. Like we both kind of went through this whole struggle and brought us to this same place with our kiddos and stuff. So I know you kind of have a similar background as me, so for everybody that's listening. Tell me more about you and what brought you to be working in this similar spaces? Me, yeah,

Speaker 3 (04:16):

I'm a former middle and high school teacher and I also have two now 17 and 18 year old boys. So mine is kind of a mix of seeing what's happening in the classroom. And also I got involved in interested in digital wellness and gaming addiction and, you know, the psychology behind all of that because of my own children. So that's what really inspired me to take a deep dive and research because in San Diego, there really weren't any specialists. And still even today, there's a waitlist for a rehab center for gaming addiction that has 300 people. And yet there's still not enough psychologists to help parents create these habits. So I just really wanted to create resources to help parents and have something. And the earlier the better that's kind of where the book came from. Then after I founded the company screen- time clinic to help parents, parent coaches, helping parents reach their goals. And yeah, so it's been a good journey. Wow.

Speaker 1 (05:16):

So you definitely have similar experiences as me with the gaming addiction and all of that stuff. And I didn't know that about the waiting list, so that's quite interesting, but I can totally see that that's such an issue.

Speaker 3 (05:27):

Yeah. And it's too bad that it gets to that point where then, you know, you have 17 and 18 and 19 and 20 year olds that are really failing in life because of the gaming habit and just not flourishing doing their best or just really having problematic behaviors. And, you know, my whole goal now, my mission in life is to prevent that and really start very early talking about it and the risks, because I still run into parents that say what video games are addictive, prove it. Okay.

Speaker 1 (05:59):

Yes. I totally see that too. And I do think like that's one thing that I've talked about recently on some of my other episodes is just how much believe that all these digital distractions and addictions to the games and different things basically like divert their development to where it's, it's kind of almost stopping it. So they're not moving on and in development in life and gaining independence and interests in the outside world and careers and all of that. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (06:26):

Yes. At the very least it's preventing them from reaching all those other potentials. And honestly, the more we researched, the more I talk with experts, it really does change the brain chemistry and has long-term effects by only using that one part of your brain for so much time fixated on the games, thinking about them, talking about them, playing them. So with screen smart, Sam, the book it's meant for elementary school kids any age, honestly, it would be a great gift for a new parent, even just to talk about it and to like have that in the back of your mind, that we don't need to give our children video games to make them happy. There's other ways to spark joy and interest. And, you know, if you do, it has to be really tightly monitored because a lot of kids are at high risk for gaming addiction.

Speaker 3 (07:17):

If they meet a whole host of certain criteria, including autism, spectrum, male, gender, premature birth, any sort of behavior disorders, learning disorders, they're at extra risk. So even though it may look like it's helping them, it really creates a lot of dysfunction and screen smart. Sam talks about the different ways to really keep that in check. And we're not anti tech, but it just is to have healthy habits. And for parents to read the book and see, you know, what are some ways that we can make change in the home to set our kids up for success? When they're little,

Speaker 1 (07:53):

I love the, a bad habit monster. Like I was reading through it this morning as I was getting ready for us talking today. And I was like, oh my God, I love this. It's like all the things that we walked through and didn't know that we had this common ground among all of us with this, you know, all that, all of us that I call it a new realm of parenting. And basically we were like the first generation of parents to walk through it with no guidance and no clue what was happening to our children until damage had been done. And now we have this whole generation of parents that are doing this and this space to help educate the next generation, but the bad habit monster, and all of that was just it's. It's so cute. And how you illustrate it and talk about it

Speaker 3 (08:37):

Because it is, you know, it's a, it's a draw. It's something that kids want to do. And once they start it, they're always going to be drawn to it. Unless, you know, kids don't have, and teens don't have that self- regulation ability just to stand up and say, Nope, I'm not going to do it. It's not good for me. I'm just going to walk away. It's, it's something that they will always be drawn to, even if they know they shouldn't. And there are parameters it's like that little monkey on your back that once it started, it's hard to stop. Yes. Like all the other tasty things in life that we ended up doing.

Speaker 1 (09:13):

Exactly. So the book is geared more toward parents of younger.

Speaker 3 (09:19):

Yes. Yes. And it's meant to be code red. It's a parent engagement tool to talk with your children about, you know, we have parents of toddlers reading it. You can see on our Instagram page, screen, smart Sam ways to actively read with your toddler, that you don't have to read word for word, that you're looking at the pictures and talking about healthy habits, just like green light foods and red light foods like screens or red light. We try to avoid them. And then, you know, fourth and fifth graders, those are the ones that can read the book themselves more and internalize the message a little bit more and do some worksheets and really think about how they can make those changes with their parents and why it's necessary. Okay.

Speaker 1 (10:04):

So to get those other resources, I think it says it at the front of the book, right? As it's screened smartfamilies.org.

Speaker 3 (10:10):

Yes. Yep. There's a whole website just dedicated to the book. And we've had a lot of sponsors that have made it possible to donate books to schools. So the teachers can use them in their classrooms that way, but parents are welcome to order their own copy there and there's worksheets and just screen-free ideas and a whole lot of other books on that topic also.

Speaker 1 (10:33):

So this sounds amazing. And it's like, I think it's, so I feel like the middle school years are so critical when parents are unknowingly giving the smartphone they're giving into that pressure and social pressure. But like we've talked about before this influence starts young. Any time we put a digital device in their hands. So this is kind of gearing toward a little bit younger ages up to those years of giving this the phone. So

Speaker 3 (10:59):

Exactly. Cause kids are so persistent and persuasive and little, little kids, they want phones and they want to be on screens. And it, it just speaks to how stimulating the younger the child is. The more they're stimulated by media, whether it's TV, media, or iPad media, the bigger the screen, the closer the screen, the more interactive the screen. So children are really, really drawn to it. And then it just kind of gets the parents in this loop of technology that they don't even realize is problematic until like middle school, when grades start coming in and they're sweet kids, you know, aren't able to make B's and A's.

Speaker 1 (11:41):

Yep, definitely. And then another thing is like, we, I know when my kids were younger in the first smartphones came out and I first had an iPhone, there was this tendency, you know, when you had to get things done around the house, just give them the phone to play with, you know? Yeah. And I had no idea that there would be any influence there. And I'd imagine like, if there's, if you're only giving it a short period of time, then not necessarily anything to worry about, but it's that making it, the babysitter type thing that we tend to get into to where, you know, it's becoming more and more and they're spending more and more time on it. Right.

Speaker 3 (12:12):

It really counteracts your intentions. It's not worth the babysitting short-term solution to have a really long-term addiction problem potentially going on, especially depending on the child and their needs. So, yeah. And you know what I love about the book that it just takes the pressure off of mom's parents. Like you're not crazy. Look in the book, like screen smart. Sam is having a problem with screens and too much time. This is what's going to happen. And it's not just like, you're a crazy person. Like mom, why can't I have a screen? Like everybody else is doing it. Literally all my friends have it. It's a great way, you know, to show kids like, no, actually this is what could happen. And you don't want to be like screened dumb Sam.

Speaker 1 (13:00):

I love that because we take so much of the burden on like my podcast being that mom has such a negative connotation and that's my movement is to try to turn around that connotation and make it a positive. So this is a way for us to take some of the pressure off of us. Right, right, right,

Speaker 3 (13:17):

Right. I didn't want an email. I screened dumb Sam, you know, fines finds the light at the end of the tunnel, but

Speaker 1 (13:26): Wow. That's awesome.

Speaker 3 (13:27):

Yeah. It's a great story. And certainly there's 16 different aspects of screen time that it actually covers and 16 different solutions. So even though it's your standard, 32 page children's book, it really has a lot of information in it that I think parents will love to consider when they are raising their children.

Speaker 1 (13:50):

Yes. I think it is so awesome. So that's, I'm so glad that you were able to come on today. So when they want to get the book, they can go to screen smart families.org. And then is it also it's available on Amazon, right?

Speaker 3 (14:01):

Yeah. It's available on Amazon Barnes, noble target pretty much anywhere can order books and yeah.

There's links on screen-time clinic too. We have that website and it's everywhere.

Speaker 1 (14:14):

Okay. That was the other thing I was going to ask you is tell me more about how they connect with you. In addition, I know you do more than just this book. So tell me more about what you do screen time clinic and all of that. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:25):

The screen time clinic is actually there to help parents. Once maybe you read a book like this and think, oh my goodness. Like, I don't even know where to start. I had no idea because there's so much information on the internet and there's so many books. I mean, it is just very time intensive to make yourself an expert in this area and really figure out what is going to work for your family and your particular situation. Because honestly, I was a single mom raising my kids most of the time. And, you know, we thought my son was on the autism spectrum, turns out it was just gaming addiction, but there's all sorts of things to consider. And at Screentime clinic, we have a network of coaches and you're one of them that people can choose from to connect with and really sit down and make a plan and talk through how are we going to handle screens in our home. And having a family media plan is really essential because these years go by so quick and you know, week by week, you just don't want it to take you by surprise it's way better to plan or make a new plan. It's never too late to start planning to.

Speaker 1 (15:33):

Awesome. Thank you so much for having all of that service. And I'm so glad that we connected. You actually reached out to me, I think on Instagram a couple months ago, but I'm so glad that we've connected and I appreciate you inviting me to be a part of your world and all that that you offer because this is a team effort. And what I like to always say, we have to have like a village in order to raise kids.

Speaker 3 (15:54): Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (15:55):

Thanks so much for being a part of the village.

Speaker 3 (15:58):

You're welcome. Nice to partner and teamwork with you. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:03):

Yes. Okay. Well, thanks so much for joining me today and I will put links in the show notes so that

people can get in touch with you and get in touch with this, getting your book in their hands. Very good.

Speaker 3 (16:13): Thank you. Okay.

Speaker 2 (16:18):

Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join Dolly's free community till next time.

Speaker 1 (16:32):

Hey friends, did you hear there is an app that will transform the safety of your kids, smartphone and technology use. It is my favorite way to sleep easy at night and have peace of mind because it is monitoring my kids' activity online without me being in their business. It is the bark app and yes, bark like a dog bark bark bark. It tells you when there's something that you need to be concerned about starting at a small fee each month, you can protect your whole family across all devices. Get connected with bark today. Use code, be that mom for 20% off your subscription for life and get a seven day free trial to check it.