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Show Notes
Worried about your child’s smartphone use? It’s not too late to make a change. Kathleen Barlow, founder of “Swimming Upscreen," returns to Scrolling 2 Death to tell us how she reclaimed the simplicity of childhood for her kids.
With six children aged 18 to 31, Kathleen has seen the dramatic impact smartphones have on childhood development. In 2018, she gave her twin daughters (then age 12) smartphones - which was typical at the time. At 17 and nearing ‘adulthood,’ she worried that their phone use was hindering necessary life skills. She swapped the smartphones for ‘simple’ phones with just calls, texts, and Spotify. No social media, no internet browser.
It wasn’t easy. The girls were not happy. But she took an intentional, gradual approach to introduce the change. The result? She has witnessed a positive transformation in her daughters’ lives now that phones are no longer the focus. Tune in to hear Kathleen and Nicki of Scrolling 2 Death share advice for parents looking to scale back their kids’ screen time.
About Kathleen Barlow
Kathleen Barlow is the mother of 6 kids and grandmother of 3. She is a former middle and high school French teacher, and she taught for about a decade in the states of New Hampshire and Utah. She currently serves on the school board of her daughters’ charter high school. She also serves on the leadership council of the Smartphone Free Childhood, and has aligned herself with several other organizations, including the Screen Time Action Network, the Phone Free Schools Movement, and the Tech Safe Learning Coalition.
Kathleen is the founder of “Swimming UpScreen”, where she blogs about screen-related issues, and also shares tips on how to delay and/or step back from tech overuse. She recently published a journal called “52 Screen-Free Experiences for Families.” In her spare time, Kathleen is crazy about mountain biking with her family, and also loves hiking, bikram yoga, journaling, building puzzles, and reading. She tries daily (yet sometimes fails!) at practicing the art of being present in each moment.
This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.
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