START uses its name as a quick reminder for parents and kids. And, now, for you too:

(S)tart with yourself.

Foster encourages parents to experience what their kids do, from putting away phones at the table to charging them overnight in another room.

(T)able and bedtime.

A tip START gives families is to create “no phone zones” in their homes, encouraging the dinner table and bedroom to be these places to encourage healthier habits.

(A)ccountability.

Accountability helps keep kids safe, so START gives recommendations for apps and programs that can protect kids from exposure to harmful media or images.  

(R)ide, practice, drive.

START takes a driver’s ed approach to technology: We all need to learn how to use it, but under supervision. It’s a tool, Foster says, and parents can teach kids how to use it by modeling for them first.

(T)ime well spent.

Using time, and teaching kids how to use time well, is a lifelong endeavor. One that Foster believes is the critical aspect of using technology well.

TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat. News. Email. Kids are surrounded by screens. We’re surrounded by screens. Alarms on our phones wake us up, and feeds on our phones put us to sleep. Most American kids are growing up with no concept of life without everpresent technology. This is a theme, a reality, that became apparent to Tracy Foster as she talked to other parents about technology. Most parents,

The rest is in the pages of Common Good.

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