Durable Human (2 book series)

Turns out, Parents of Babies and Toddlers are Irreplaceable

For little ones, nothing can match their parents’ human touch. So says an unprecedented 37-nation alliance of clinicians, researchers, educators, and advocates.  

The group cites a cascade of new research supporting an age-old notion: parents and caregivers provide the back-and-forth responsive attention and play that children need in their first years of life—and screen time can’t compare.

Babyhood: A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Babyhood is the only time in life the human brain is growing so quickly.

“The first years of life are a critical time for brain development, when the baby’s back and forth social experiences with loved ones build the brain connections for processing language and social information,” says Karen Heffler, M.D., a developmental researcher from Drexel University School of Medicine in the U.S.

“Screen time disrupts and displaces these essential experiences,” she underscores.

Heffler is also part of the Global Alliance for Inspiring Non-tech Infant Nurturing and Growth, or GAINING.

To inform governments, healthcare providers and parents worldwide about new research on the developmental needs of children from birth to age 3, GAINING is distributing “awareness alerts” worldwide.

A “News to Know” alert for parents explains “how the brain develops in the first years sets the foundation for your child’s overall health and well-being” and that screen time can interfere.

Parents Stretched Thin

Though parents have the best of intentions, giving their all can be tough when attention-grabbing screens are everywhere and stress is a daily reality.

“To support parents and acknowledge how difficult life can be, we strived to be understanding in what we wrote,” María de los Angeles Paúl, pediatrician from Chile and GAINING member told the journal Perspectives in Infant Mental Health.

Tech has Unfair Advantage

GAINING also cites research that the “educational” label on apps and shows made for the youngest children can be misleading.

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If It’s Not Your Kid, Don’t Gift a Smartphone

Woman reaching out with wrapped holiday gift. Photo by Kira auf der hyde

It may be tempting to want to please a child pleading for a shiny, new smartphone. But if you’re a grandparent, family friend, or any loved one who is not the child’s parent, granting that wish could do more harm than good. Read on for the scary reasons why and for a list of non-tech gifts kids will also be excited to receive.

I’ve always held that giving a child a cellphone has more strings attached than the coolest pair of sneakers. But looking back, this 2014 post seems quaint and innocent. In the decade since, smartphones and their content have become extremely sophisticated—and downright treacherous for children.

Smartphone as delivery vehicle

I know a mom who has two young daughters. Since before they were born, we’ve talked about how she would introduce them to the digital world. She’s done a great job thoughtfully helping them balance the time they spend on technology with everything else they need to do to grow up confident and self-sufficient.

So I was surprised when she told me her 12-year-old had a smartphone. “My mother promised her a phone when she got to middle school,” she said with a sigh.

I asked if her daughter had social media. “Well, not really, except for Snapchat. She begged for it since everybody has it—and we said yes.”

I thought for a minute if I should tell her.

The tragic case of Sewell Setzer

That very day, I’d learned of a lawsuit filed over the death of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer.

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Congress and Angry Parents Make Progress Fighting Social Media Harms. You Can, too.

Teen girl lying in bed looking at her phone

Social media platforms may soon need to acquiesce to the demands of Congress and upset parents. 

The prospect comes after the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee called for testimony by Snap, X, TikTok, Discord, and Meta.

As their executives responded to angry questioning, parents stood silently behind them, holding up photographs of their children whose deaths are related to using the platforms.

“You have blood on your hands,” ranking member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) accused Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the hearing began. “You have a product that’s killing people.”  

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How AI and Writing Can Co-Exist

Young girl looks intently at computer screen perhaps contemplating using an AI suggestion in her writing

With the arrival of ChatGPT, one of the biggest worries in education is if students will ever be honest again. Victor Lee of Stanford Graduate School of Education has seen new data on the practice of cheating. His bottom line: “Pandora’s box didn’t get opened.”

The non-profit Challenge Success education research group polled kids at 3 different types of high schools. Cheating remains at about the same hefty rate it was before chatbots: about 60%. Among public school kids, the cheating rate has even dropped a little.

Regarding ChatGPT and writing, turns out that students—like all of us—know about the chatbot, but many choose not to use it.

As Lee told the Children and Screens Digital Media and Developing Minds Scientific International Congress, “Students do know about it, but they are exercising restraint.”

At this point, students mainly use a chatbot to get started on a paper or make a summary. As Lee says, “It might help [students] write an abstract, but not the entire paper.

How Students Can Write with AI

Much-respected linguist Naomi Baron followed Lee’s setup at Children and Screens. The American University emerita professor is not too pessimistic. She believes humans can be thoughtful as well as sentient.

The key is “to think about writing and why we do it,” as she tells her students. ChatGPT can be part of the process.

Baron comes from a position of respect: that students who have basic writing skills will have enough self-respect they won’t automatically hand over their expressive capabilities to the large language overlords.

5 Considerations for Writing with AI

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