Today, Mandee Hamann welcomes our own founder, Melanie Hempe, to talk about ScreenStrong’s new initiatives launching next month. She introduces ScreenStrong’s new Member Portal which will ultimately strengthen our community and help families create positive change. Melanie shares her passionate vision and hard work over the last eight years that's accumulated into offering the exclusive content to our members. It’s been her goal to create a safe place to grow ScreenStrong and establish a culture...
Nov 17, 2021•29 min
Today Melanie is joined by Brandie Hadfield, a Certified Attachment Parenting Educator and Certified Family Health Coach. She is a mother to two boys and a new ScreenStrong Ambassador who shares her story of how she changed her family’s lifestyle and began parenting without screens. Brandie and her family are six months into their ScreenStrong journey with a very clear “before” and “after.” She shares how self-judgement colored her ability to create effective limits with her kids, which is a com...
Nov 10, 2021•43 min
Today, Melanie talks with Dr. Kim Le, a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Adelaide, Australia. He completed his psychiatry training in New South Wales and in 2015, Dr. Le received a federal grant to collaborate with an Internet Gaming Addiction Clinic for teenagers in Singapore. He has a special interest in “Gaming Disorder," which was recognized by the World Health Organization in 2018 as a mental health disorder. Dr. Le shares his professional journey that led to his interest and pass...
Nov 03, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Join Melanie in Part 2 of her conversation with Dr. Richard Freed, author of our book of the month, Wired Child . Dr. Freed is a practicing Clinical Psychologist and supervisor studying the effects of technology on children and speaking on parenting in the age of digital technology. He is also on the advisory board of ScreenStrong and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood's Children's Screen Time Action Network, and a contributor to the Huffington Post. In this episode, Dr. Freed introduc...
Oct 27, 2021•56 min
Today Melanie talks with Pediatric Optometrist, Dr. Janet Wilson, who has practiced as a developmental functional vision specialist over the past 13 years. Janet is also mother to a 3-year old son and is actively parenting a low-tech lifestyle with him. Janet discusses how visual development is linked to other childhood developmental milestones that actually assist children in gaining 17 visual skills as they grow. She goes on to explain what is at risk when we interrupt child development with e...
Oct 20, 2021•54 min
In today's episode, Mandee is joined by Jason and Lisa Frost, founders of the nonprofit organization, Wired Human , and authors of the book, The Glass Between Us: Empowering Youth to Combat Digital Exploitation - A Value-Based Approach to Screen-Driven Challenges. They have worked with teens, individually and together, for almost a decade through speaking engagements, nature-focused camps, and teaching in community-based settings. Jason and Lisa share their passion and enthusiasm in encouraging ...
Oct 13, 2021•36 min
Dr. Richard Freed, author of our book of the month, Wired Child , is a practicing Clinical Psychologist and supervisor studying the effects of technology on children. He is on the advisory board of ScreenStrong as well as a contributor to many publications. In part 1 of 2 interviews, Melanie and Richard share a passionate conversation about the lies and myths being promoted by the tech industry and how it has manipulated the way we have parented over the last 15+ years. They discuss how under th...
Oct 06, 2021•58 min
Today's discussion is the second part of our book of the month, Assassination Generation: Video Games, Aggression, and the Psychology of Killing , written by Lt. Col. David Grossman. Melanie and Lt. Col. Grossman discuss what he views as the “single greatest threat to our civilization”—our children’s exposure to violent visual imagery perpetuated by the Media industry at large. Lt. Col Grossman points out the Media’s double message in their acknowledgment of their influence on society while reje...
Sep 29, 2021•31 min
Are video games hurting your relationship with your kids? Have you lost your kids to their screens? Are you desperate to get them back? Imagine never having screen conflict in your home again! As a dad, have you ever asked: Is playing video games with my kids a good bonding activity? Am I connecting with my kids as much as a think I am? Aren't screens the primary way parents spend time with their kids? Join ScreenStrong and James & Arlene Pellicane in an exclusive webinar for dads. Listen to...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Today Melanie speaks with Marilyn Evans, a mom of 5 boys and the director of Parents Aware , a resource she launched in 2016 with the goal of educating and helping parents begin to have open, honest and compassionate conversations with their children about relationships, sex and pornography. Melanie and Marilyn discuss common blind spots parents have regarding pornography. They talk about how to build safer habits through having open and honest conversations with your children. Marilyn offers ti...
Sep 22, 2021•31 min
Today, Melanie talks with Steve and Candice Watters, a married couple dedicated and passionate about helping and supporting young families. They have four children—13 to 22—whom they have raised ScreenStrong. Steve and Candice share their “light bulb moments” that led to their realization and diligence in becoming intentional parents. They identified a focus and practice of building relationships with their children, building alternatives to what was being offered culturally, and being intention...
Sep 15, 2021•44 min
This week we'll be hearing from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a US Army Ranger, paratrooper, former West Point Psychology Professor, and author of Assassination Generation: Video Games, Aggression, and the Psychology of Killing. Lt. Col. Grossman describes how playing "innocent" video games progress to addiction, why video games make kids aggressive, the dangers of operant and classical conditioning, and the mental, physical, and emotional turmoil children are experiencing due to a saturation of media...
Sep 08, 2021•29 min
This week, Melanie talks with Candace Collins, a single parent of a 6-year old daughter living a Screen Strong lifestyle. Candace works in Social Media and Digital Marketing and is well aware of the pull that hand held devices have on our daily lives. Candace shares her parenting journey of how she began to notice the toxic effects of screen use and how she made the choice to live counter culturally to provide her daughter a nurturing and connected environment. She offers tips and simple suggest...
Sep 01, 2021•43 min
Today, Melanie is joined by Joe Clement, a teacher, parent of three, and co-author of Screen Schooled with Matt Miles. Joe is in his 28th year of teaching and brings a unique perspective as he has witnessed the change technology has brought into both the classroom and the home environment. Melanie and Joe discuss the mental health risk factors that are influenced by the toxic use of screens that result in loss of empathy, loss of awareness of facial/social cues, increased stress, and lack of dev...
Aug 20, 2021•58 min
Today, guest host, Mandee Hamann interviews Noah Reid, a 17 year old High School student and Competitive Debater and Public Speaker. Noah shares the back story on how he, at the age of 15, wrote a persuasive speech about Age Restricting Social Media. He credits his parents’ continued open communication about Social Media and how their wisdom influenced the development of his speech and his perspectives. Noah encourages parents to talk openly with their teens and for teenagers to question their u...
Aug 12, 2021•24 min
Today, guest host, Mandee Hamann, introduces Tom Hayes, who is a nationally recognized comedian, speaker, entrepreneur, writer, and creator of an animation titled Beantown Pals. Tom shares his personal story of being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer at 13-years-old—learning that adversity leads to character development. Mandee and Tom discuss how the evolution of screens in our culture has changed how we parent, and Tom cautions parents that by taking away their child’s pain, it may b...
Aug 11, 2021•34 min
Melanie is joined by Matt Miles, a teacher and co-author of Screen Schooled: Two Veteran Teachers Expose How Technology Overuse Is Making Our Kids Dumber . Matt is a passionate educator and advocate for his students. In this interview, he gives a teacher's perspective on virtual learning during the Covid pandemic and the negative outcomes that educators, parents, and students are facing. With his uniquely bold convictions, Matt Miles talks about the counterproductive nature of "ed tech," the soc...
Aug 04, 2021•58 min
Our guest today is Emma Lembke, a teenager from Birmingham, Alabama, who is the CEO and Co-Founder of the LOG OFF Movement . The mission of LOG OFF is to seek further dialogue about the multifaceted nature of social media and promote the healthy usage of it. LOG-OFF is passionate about lowering social media’s impact on mental health while teaching teen users and their parents about how to navigate the vast inner-workings of life on social media. Emma shares her experience with social media addic...
Jul 28, 2021•31 min
In today's episode, Mandee Hamann speaks with Doug Smith who is a Screenstrong Ambassador, father of four adult daughters, software developer, and a life-long Bible student. Doug is the author of [Un]Intentional, How Screens Secretly Shape Your Desires And How You Can Break Free . His book provides five practices to purposeful and intentional living with screen use. Doug encourages families to cast a vision of what their life could be without screen dependencies and to create a family mission to...
Jul 14, 2021•25 min
In today's episode, Melanie has a candid conversation with Ronna Glickman, a retired middle school teacher passionate about educating students, parents, and educational administrators about internet safety and the dangers of social media's influence on children. Due to the pandemic, she is now active in tutoring children who are having difficulty managing the current online education platforms. Melanie and Ronna talk about the culture of disrespect that is prevalent with children in our society ...
Jul 07, 2021•52 min
Melanie welcomes Cris Rowan, who is a registered pediatric occupational therapist, certified sensory specialist (SIPT), biologist, author of "Virtual Child", and prolific speaker on the impact of technology on child development and learning. Melanie and Cris start their conversation discussing the 4 Critical Factors needed for the developing child which include movement, touch, human connection, and nature. Cris emphasizes a focus on increased engagement of these factors to create the foundation...
Jul 06, 2021•1 hr 3 min
In today's episode, Mandee Hamann welcomes Sarah, one of our ScreenStrong Ambassadors, as she shares her family’s story of becoming ScreenStrong. She shares that it all started with an iPad and describes how quickly her family’s dynamic changed over the course of a few months. Sarah shares how she and her husband guided their family through the ScreenStrong Challenge, what happened after the Challenge was over, and how she reclaimed her family’s positive dynamic. This story will inspire you on y...
Jun 23, 2021•35 min
Today Melanie talks with Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women and director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab. Dr. Charmaraman’s research interests include technology and adolescent health, digital citizenship, innovative research methods to include overlooked and hidden populations, and how social identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, political affiliation) affect wellbeing. Dr. Charmaraman shares with Mel...
Jun 18, 2021•45 min
In this episode, Melanie introduces our ScreenStrong Families to Dr. Andrew Doan, who shares his expertise on gaming addiction and how it impacts development in children. Dr. Doan is a neuroscientist, physician, author & speaker. With a doctoral degree in neuroscience, his background in molecular neuroscience adds in depth knowledge into the areas of internet, video game, and technology addictions. Dr. Doan is the author of Hooked on Games . Today, Dr. Doan discusses the increase in Autism d...
Jun 16, 2021•51 min
In today's episode, Mandee Hamann (filling in for Melanie Hempe) welcomes Jenny Hoey, the founder of Not My Kid, a group she created for the purpose of educating and supporting parents on the safety issues of raising children within the digital world. Jenny is a Screen Strong Ambassador and parenting coach that lives with her family in Australia. Today, Jenny shares her and her daughter's personal life-changing story of an on-line incident that occurred when her daughter was 9 years old. She sha...
Jun 10, 2021•27 min
In this episode of the ScreenStrong podcast, Melanie talks to James Good, whose young life was overtaken by video game addiction. James describes how as he moved through high school and into university, his healthy hobbies, interests, and friendships were slowly replaced by gaming until he began to struggle socially, emotionally, and academically. One of James’ key realizations as he beat his gaming problem was that he had never learned how to “do hard things”–he has since built his ability to c...
Jun 04, 2021•44 min
Tom Kersting, author of our May Book of the Month (BOTM) pick "Disconnected," joins the entire ScreenStrong Team and members from our community to answer YOUR questions about fear culture, parental denial, teen privacy online, smartphones in school, and so much more! Support the show Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love. Stay Strong! Get your copy of the BRAND NEW KBS Home Edition! Start your S...
May 28, 2021•47 min
In this episode, Barb Winters, a Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist, discusses the emotional discovery of her son’s pornography exposure and her passion to help parents not suffer alone in isolation after making similar discoveries. She and Melanie talk through tips to prevent porn use for teens and some unique approaches to help kids engage in helpful conversations. Subscribe at Barb's website hopefulmom.net to receive updates and a free resource, “7 Actions When Your Child Has Seen Porn.” You ca...
May 26, 2021•46 min
In the second half of Melanie’s discussion with author Tom Kersting, they move on to his chapters about how technology affects children’s social and emotional development, and how family dynamics are negatively impacted by screen saturation in kids. Kersting focuses on problems that Melanie and other parents are familiar with: kids who would rather game than make real friends, emotional dysregulation, and a feeling of disconnection between the generations. Finally, Melanie and Tom delve into the...
May 21, 2021•51 min
Nate Webb is a bullying survivor and high school counselor who started the Bullies Be Gone podcast and speaks at schools about bullying, social media, and how kids can get back to loving their lives. As a counselor, he has seen how smartphone access and social media have exacerbated bullying by opening kids up to 24/7 contact with their peers. In his conversation with Melanie, Nate emphasizes his parents’ positive influence on his attitude as a suffering middle- and high-schooler, and gives advi...
May 14, 2021•46 min
