Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World

Screenwise offers an encouraging perspective on how to thoughtfully guide kids in the digital age. Many parents and educators worry that kids are addicted, detached, or distracted because of their digital devices. Digital Citizenship expert Devorah Heitner, however, believes that technology offers huge potential to our children--if parents help them. Screenwise helps parents recognize that the social wisdom they have gained throughout their lives is a relevant and urgently needed supplement to their kid's digital savvy. These skills can help set kids up for a lifetime of success in a world fueled by technology. The core message of the book is that kids need mentoring, not (just) monitoring, and that kids deserve more empathy from adults about growing up in the digital age. Texting, gaming and social media are social spaces requiring social skills. The book offers advice on helping kids navigate friendship and identity issues that are common among new texters, gamers and social media users. Screenwise is a guide to understanding what it is like for children to grow up with technology, and to recognizing the special challenges--and advantages--that contemporary kids and teens experience thanks to this level of connection. Children's school experiences, family life and friendships are all shaped by digital connection. Educators and school leaders looking to engage parents around educational technology and wishing to create a culture of digital citizenship will benefit from this volume. Screenwise helps parents and educators move beyond discussions of "screentime" to evaluate different kinds of engagement with technology. Screenwise presents practical parenting "hacks": quick ideas that you can implement today that will help you understand and relate to your digital native. The book empowers parents to recognize ways that wisdom that they have gained throughout their lives is a relevant and urgently needed supplement to their kid's digital savvy. Based on real-life stories from families, the latest research, and Dr. Heitner's experience working with schools, Screenwise teaches parents what they need to know in order to raise responsible and empathetic kids in the digital age.