How to rebuild trust when you find these apps on your child’s smartphone

by Joanna Jullien | Jun 4, 2019 | Discipline, Faith, Family, Internet Safety, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Privacy, Social Media, Teenagers, Wisdom

One of the greatest challenges of parenting tech-savvy youth is balancing rules and relationships. There is much confusion between trust and faith and private and secret.  The biggest obstacle to building trust with tech-savvy youth is a parent’s fear which kills open...

Why devices are not to blame for a lack of connection with your child

by Joanna Jullien | May 28, 2019 | Anxiety, Boundaries, Children & Teens Problems & Pitfalls, Children's Health & Mental Health, Discipline, Faith, Family, Internet addiction, Internet Safety, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parenting, Social Media, Substance abuse prevention, Teenagers, Wisdom

Recently I found a very honest and inspirational book on parenting at the local thrift store, entitled, The Key to Your Child’s Heart, by Gary Smalley. Published in 1984, Smalley (an author, educator, pastor, husband and father) shares some of the fundamentals of...

Conquer the fear of losing a child to screentime

by Joanna Jullien | May 15, 2019 | addiction, Children's Health & Mental Health, Family, Happiness, Internet addiction, Internet Safety, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Social Media, Substance Abuse & Addiction, Suicide, Teenagers, Wisdom

Executive summary The quality of life for a child or teen is not necessarily defined by social media use. Children who are not feeling a sense of secure belonging at home and in a peer community are vulnerable to the isolating impact of excessive social media use....

Signs your child’s sense of well-being is impaired

by Joanna Jullien | Apr 29, 2019 | addiction, Anxiety, Children & Teens Problems & Pitfalls, Children's Health & Mental Health, Children's mental health, Depression, Faith, Family, Internet Safety, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parenting, Peer abuse, Recovery, Social Media, Teenagers, Wisdom

Before mobile connectivity, texting, and social media became a primary artery of communication for young and old alike, mental health issues were considered something that happened only to some “flawed individuals”. It is no surprise that the resulting stigma of...

What the college admission scams say about our parenting culture and the plight of our youth

by Joanna Jullien | Mar 19, 2019 | addiction, Anxiety, Cannabis use among youth, Children & Teens Problems & Pitfalls, Children's Health & Mental Health, Children's mental health, Family, Internet addiction, Marijuna use by teens, Parent-child communication, Parenting, Substance Abuse & Addiction, Suicide, Teen Drinking, Teen drug addiction, Teenagers, Wisdom, Youth Suicide

Recent news stories about the college admissions scandals illustrate how this modern “achievement generation” of parents believe that their child’s life is a trophy for their own mantles, and also reinforce an entitlement mentality that undermines the resilience youth...

Who is in control? Two truths about power struggles with tech-savvy youth

by Joanna Jullien | Mar 15, 2019 | Faith, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parent-child relationship, Parental control, Parenting, Social Media, Teenagers, Texting, Wisdom

Executive summary In a world punctuated by dynamic, innovative and disruptive social media trends parents can easily perceive that they have very little control over the security and behavior of their tech-savvy children. When parents harbor a fearful desire to be in...