La Jolla CA— Screen Time Clinic® launches nationwide today, offering a specialized service that empowers parents to monitor and reduce youth screen time, creating safe and healthy technology habits. Screen Time Clinic provides a national network of Success Coaches that offer personalized family coaching services as well as group seminars for parents, students, and organizations interested in advocacy.
Serious negative developmental effects from youth using screens at an early age range from eye myopia, blue light sleep disruption, changes in brain structure, and developmental delays. Lower levels of the brain’s white matter, which are critical for language, literacy, and cognitive skills have been shown in children using screens as early as age two. Most parents do not realize the extent of sexually explicit material and sharing of racist rhetoric by minors that has increased dramatically since the pandemic as noted in an April 2020 survey of over 3000 parents by ParentsTogether.
The company was founded by former teacher Nicole Rawson after noticing her own teenagers’ inability to control impulses to constantly use technology and the lack of professional resources available to reset these bad habits. Rawson shares, “Due to increased idle time during the pandemic, children’s screen time has skyrocketed which is a real problem. We use proven coaching methods, comprehensive custom technology contracts, and “Rewirement Plans” specifically developed to reduce conflict at home with clear expectations of rules and social norms to formulate new routines. We want parents to feel empowered to be effective accountability partners not constantly nagging or ignoring tech overuse.”
The CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics has proactively warned the public about the negative effects of screen time and the importance of minimizing children’s exposure to only a few hours per day, yet very few parents are successful in combating the addictive nature of programming or allure of easy entertainment. While many parents are generally aware of the dangers of screen time, Rawson and her team have found that they don’t fully understand the ramifications, nor how to formulate a robust plan to set their children up for success before allowing access to technology. Screen Time Clinic® also helps parents and teenagers reset habits after technology use becomes problematic by helping to formulate a comprehensive plan for reduced use and responsible viewing and sharing of appropriate content.