Award-winning psychologist, author, and Nurture’s Digital Parenting Expert. I help families build healthy relationships with technology through science-backed guidance. My work focuses on screen time, gaming, and raising kids in a connected world.
Creativity isn’t something kids are simply born with. Some children might have a natural inclination toward imaginative play or artistic expression, but all children can learn to think creatively. It’s a skill, a special way of thinking, that develops through encouragement, repetition, and consistent freedom to explore. And...
What does it mean to be a good human online? That’s the question at the heart of the concept of digital citizenship. It’s really not that different from being one off-screen, or a good citizen in general. OK, easy enough — but what about our kids, who are growing...
Teaching communication skills to our kids today means thinking twofold: traditional and digital. Raised among screens, apps, and the online world — including its communities and multitude of communication methods — means communication skills now firmly include: * Asynchronous communication * Text, email, and other digital notes * Communication with fewer nonverbal cues The way...
Digital literacy is our ability to navigate digital spaces in an effective and informed way. For kids, that’s mainly about knowing what content is for them and what’s not, and where to go for help if something weird happens. It includes recognizing what’s appropriate, what’s not,...
Over the past decade, researchers have discovered that playing video games can actually boost IQ. Consider the large 2022 study that followed nearly 10,000 U.S. children aged 9–10 and measured their cognitive abilities two years later. After controlling for genetics and socioeconomic factors, researchers found that kids...
Friendship doesn’t look the same as it did a generation ago. For today’s kids, social connection flows fluidly between offline and online spaces. A friend might be someone they sit next to at school. A friend might be someone they build with in Minecraft. Or that friend might...
"Emotional parenting" might sound like a new trend, but it’s deeply rooted in what developmental science has long supported: children thrive when they feel seen, heard, and guided. While the phrase itself isn’t a formal parenting style, the skills it describes, such as validation, co-regulation, and...
Social skills, a category of foundational life skills, refers to the various abilities we use to communicate and interact with others effectively. There is a wide range of skills that are considered “social skills”, such as: * Active listening * Respect * Using and understanding body language * Empathy * Emotional intelligence. While we might...
Summer can feel like a season of endless possibility. It can also be filled with too many moments of, “I’m bored!” When used with intention, screen time activities can be a great way to support kids in the summer, to help them curb their summer boredom, build skills, and...