Is a smartphone on your child's gift list?

Yep. They're asking for it. If your house is anything like ours, then your kids are asking for smart phones. They'll tell you they NEED it, but beware. We adults can attest to our phone's addictive power.
Here are a few tips to get you through the holiday season:

• Watch a Ted Talk from Tristan Harris about how tech companies control our minds. A former Google employee, Tristan has spent a decade understanding the invisible influences that hijack human thinking. Drawing on literature from addiction, persuasive design, and behavioral economics, he is currently developing a framework for ethical persuasion, especially as it relates to the moral responsibility of technology companies.
• Check out Wait Until 8th. They offer 9 intriguing reasons why waiting until 8th grade is a smart choice for parents. Parents feel powerless in this uphill battle and need community support to help delay the ever-evolving presence of smartphones in the classroom, social arena and family dinner table.
• Want to wait even longer? Read insights from a local therapist on strategies to delay buying a smartphone in our previous blog post on 12/5/18. Tips include ideas for encouraging independence and solutions for helping avoid social stigma. 
  
• Try 'Gray for a day" - stay tuned for more detail about this HeadsUp Rivertowns initiative coming January 3.

As a screen-smart community, we're wishing you a festive holiday. Filled with happy kids, engaging in the magical (real) world around them.