Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance
Ditch the devices and bring back the magic of being a kid
Screens are everywhere. Children spend an average of 7.5 hours on digital devices every day with profoundly negative consequences. While some tech may "amplify" real-life experience, the vast majority undermines it by limiting physical activity, creating anxiety, or damaging self-esteem. Childhood Unplugged takes a bold approach to creating healthy boundaries around the use of digital media.
Drawing on her own family's experience, plus interviews with digital minimalists, educators, and child development experts, Katherine Martinko presents:
- Meticulously researched analysis of the impacts of excessive screen time on children's physical, neurological, emotional, and social development
- Specific pathways to reduced screen exposure, naturally leading to more time spent outdoors, increased confidence and empathy, and more creative and active play
- Inspiration for caregivers overwhelmed by the thought of severing ties with the digital babysitter
- Age-appropriate advice for parents of babies and toddlers, school-aged children, and adolescents.
Taking a calming, nonjudgmental approach, Childhood Unplugged is a lifeline for parents, caregivers, educators, and anyone who questions the role of digital media and yearns for the young people in their life to experience the profound beauty and magic of childhood.
AWARDS
- FINALIST 2023 Foreword INDIES Awards: Family & Relationships
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Katherine Martinko is an editor and writer with a decade of experience in digital news publishing. She was a senior editor at Treehugger, an internationally respected environmental lifestyle site. Katherine previously wrote for Discovery Network's Parentables website and maintained a popular parenting blog. Many of the thousands of articles she has written over the years explore the importance of raising "offline" kids, teaching them to become resilient and independent, and being wary of the profound effects of too much screen time on developing brains. Katherine is an honors graduate of the University of Toronto, where she studied English and history. She speaks four languages, is a classically trained violinist, an award-winning public speaker, and a community leader who spearheaded a major refugee resettlement effort in her own small town. Katherine lives with her husband and three children in Port Elgin, Ontario. Find her at https: //feistyredhair.com.
"...solid ideas for reducing digital dependency."
--Publishers Weekly
"With advice on removing televisions from bedrooms and limiting screen time or tablet usage to a couple of hours per week, this is a helpful guide for parents who hope to curb their family's electronic habits."
--Foreword Reviews
"A digital minimalist's must-have guide to launching your kids into a life of real connectedness and authenticity."
--Joshua Becker, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Things That Matter
"Martinko expertly and urgently takes us deeper into the hidden horrors of too much screen time on the growing child. Then she throws us all a life preserver with the most practical, gentle advice I've seen."
--Angela Hanscom, author, Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children
"Katherine Martinko makes the case that not only is a screen-free childhood possible, but reducing our children's time on screen is essential for their happiness, sanity, and health. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written, it should be mandatory reading for all parents."
--Catherine Price, founder, ScreenLifeBalance.com, author, How to Break Up with Your Phone
"The passionate, clear-eyed, and thoroughly practical guide every parent needs to fight the good fight against the excesses of digital today."
--David Sax, bestselling author, The Revenge of Analog and The Future is Analog
"Truthful and transparent expert information combined with pragmatic and practical advice on how to liberate parents and "unplug" children. A must-read for any parent who wants to bring back the joys of parenting...and the fun of childhood."
--Dr. Mari Swingle (R. Psych), author, i-Minds, director, Swingle Clinic
"It takes an enormous effort to show our kids the world beyond their screens, but Katherine Martinko teaches us how to get it done in this practical, empathetic, and fascinating new guide."
--Michael Harris, author, Solitude and The End of Absence
"Martinko provides an in-depth, well-researched guide filled with reflections on her own journey with (but of course mostly without!) screens, and the joy she has experienced from "unplugging." A useful guide for those keen to begin their own screen-free journey."
--Outdoor Play Canada
"Martinko has written a must-read for parents struggling with screen time (all of us!). Her well-researched book shows the urgent need to free kids from screens and release them into the outdoors. She offers frazzled parents achievable practical advice rooted in the challenges of parenting today."
--Dr. Mariana Brussoni, professor, University of British Columbia, director, Human Early Learning Partnership
