Workbooks that teach kids ages 8 to 14 to manage their own screen habits, plus a guide for their parents. Written by Kara Coleman, a former elementary teacher and mother of three.https://balancebychoice.com/en-ushttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/what-your-kid-is-actually-hearing-when-you-talk-about-screens/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/what-your-kid-is-actually-hearing-when-you-talk-about-screens/You’ve had this conversation before. You sat your kid down to talk about screen time, the conversation went okay, you felt like things were settled. Then a...Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/when-to-talk-to-your-kid-about-screens-and-why-earlier-matters-more-than-youd-think/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/when-to-talk-to-your-kid-about-screens-and-why-earlier-matters-more-than-youd-think/Your kid is eight, nine, or ten. They don’t have a phone yet. Social media is still a few years off. Screen time is something you have rules about, but it...Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/the-7-conversations-every-parent-should-have-with-their-kid-about-screens-before-they-hit-their-teens/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/the-7-conversations-every-parent-should-have-with-their-kid-about-screens-before-they-hit-their-teens/A lot of digital parenting advice focuses on one topic at a time. You’ll find an article about screen time limits here, a post about phones over there,...Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/teaching-kids-to-spot-deepfakes-and-ai-misinformation-before-they-share-it/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/teaching-kids-to-spot-deepfakes-and-ai-misinformation-before-they-share-it/A 12-year-old at a school I know sent a video to her group chat of a famous singer “admitting” they use AI to write all their songs. Within an hour the...Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-your-kid-trusts-chatgpt-more-than-you-realize-and-what-to-do-about-it/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-your-kid-trusts-chatgpt-more-than-you-realize-and-what-to-do-about-it/Your kid asks ChatGPT to explain a math concept. Fine. Then they ask it to write the intro paragraph. Also fine, maybe. Then one night you walk past their...Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/when-your-kid-starts-treating-a-chatbot-like-a-friend/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/when-your-kid-starts-treating-a-chatbot-like-a-friend/A 12-year-old started using a chatbot for homework help a few months ago. Just for definitions, math explanations, the usual. Nothing deep. Then one night,...Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/how-to-set-up-your-kids-first-phone-and-avoid-the-mistakes-most-parents-make/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/how-to-set-up-your-kids-first-phone-and-avoid-the-mistakes-most-parents-make/You’ve made the decision. Maybe your kid has been asking for two years. Maybe their friends all have phones now. Maybe their walk home from school has...Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-your-family-needs-a-phone-contract-and-how-to-write-one-that-actually-works/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-your-family-needs-a-phone-contract-and-how-to-write-one-that-actually-works/You set the rule. Your kid broke it. You enforced a consequence. They sulked for a day. Then you eased up because it felt easier than another argument, and...Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-phone-free-zones-work-when-screen-time-limits-dont/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-phone-free-zones-work-when-screen-time-limits-dont/Screen time limits work great on paper. You set the number, the phone enforces it, your kid’s screen time stays exactly where you want it. Except that...Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/what-to-do-when-social-media-is-wrecking-your-tweens-self-esteem/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/what-to-do-when-social-media-is-wrecking-your-tweens-self-esteem/You noticed it before she said anything. She started spending more time on her phone in the bathroom. Sometimes she’d look at herself in the mirror, then...Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/the-real-reason-your-tween-cant-put-down-their-phone-its-not-what-you-think/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/the-real-reason-your-tween-cant-put-down-their-phone-its-not-what-you-think/You’ve asked them three times already. First nicely, then firmly, then in the voice you reserve for when things are about to get serious. The phone is still...Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-your-tween-rolls-their-eyes-at-your-screen-time-rules-and-what-actually-works-at-this-age/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-your-tween-rolls-their-eyes-at-your-screen-time-rules-and-what-actually-works-at-this-age/The rules used to work. When they were nine, you’d say “thirty minutes, then we’re done,” and they’d grumble and comply. That was the end of it.Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/how-to-help-your-child-set-their-own-screen-time-goals-and-actually-stick-to-them/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/how-to-help-your-child-set-their-own-screen-time-goals-and-actually-stick-to-them/Most screen time conversations in most households go one of two directions. Either the parent sets the rules and the kid resists them, or the parent gives...Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/how-to-reduce-screen-time-without-constant-battles/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/how-to-reduce-screen-time-without-constant-battles/If talking about screen time turns into an argument every day, you’re not the only one dealing with it.Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-telling-kids-to-get-off-their-screens-doesnt-work-and-what-does/https://balancebychoice.com/articles/why-telling-kids-to-get-off-their-screens-doesnt-work-and-what-does/If you’ve ever said “get off your screen” approximately forty times in one evening and had it work exactly zero of those times, you’re not doing it wrong....Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT