We must let children experience the world through their senses and hands-on experiences, avoiding the need to “keep them busy” with digital devices and giving them a childhood unplugged.
I’m thrilled to speak with Katherine about the benefits of adopting a minimalist approach to digital consumption as we raise our children in an ever-growing digital world.
What We Talked About
- Katherine’s desire to write her book “Childhood Unplugged.”’
- The effects of excessive screen time have on our children’s development and mental health
- Navigating digital media use and fostering offline activities
- Setting boundaries around screen time and social media use.
- Modeling appropriate use of our digital devices to shape healthy screen habits for our children.
- Alternative communication methods and developing human communication skills
Things to Remember
“Parenting is about conveying the principles that you believe to be the most important in life to your children and setting them off in the world on the right foot and watching them succeed.”
“The benefits of having a smartphone simply do not outweigh the cons.”
“Handling a smartphone is on par with handling a car. Kids need that level of responsibility and emotional maturity to do it.”
“When you give kids responsibilities around the house, they have less time to hang out in their bedrooms, scroll on their phones, or play video games.”
“We’re too caught up with the idea that just because this technology is new and exciting, it is, therefore, good, but we’re losing a lot in the process.”
“It is up to us as parents to protect our children from the negative effects of this highly addictive substance the same way that we would limit our children’s access to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.”
“We promote better independence in children if you’re not surveilling them.”
― Katherine Martinko
“Technology is taking us to a place where children are forgetting to play. We need to rescue childhood.” ― Mariana Carazo
Additional Resources
Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance By Katherine Johnson Martinko
My interview with Gaia Bernstein – EP 96 Unwired.
FREE Download: 50+ Screen-Free Activities for your children
Let’s Continue the conversation…
Now, Katherine and I want to hear from you!
Is your child’s screen time stealing precious moments? Listen in as my guest, Katherine Martinko, shares how to unplug and reclaim childhood.
Remember, The Art of Parenting was created for you. If you have any suggestions for experts, I should have on the show or parenting questions you want to be answered. Please let me know here.
More About My Guest
Katherine Johnson Martinko is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She is the author of “Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance” (New Society, 2023).
A proponent of digital minimalism and a mother of three, Katherine writes and speaks about the importance of disconnecting from devices to reconnect with creative play, nature, and each other.
A former senior editor at Treehugger, her work appears in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Motherly, CBC radio/TV, and more. She is a staff writer for Where Parents Talk. She writes a fast-growing Substack newsletter called The Analog Family.
- Website: The Analog Family
- Instagram: @feistyredhair
- Twitter/X: Katherine Johnson Martinko
- LinkedIn: Katherine Johnson Martinko
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