As adults we know the signs of a healthy versus an unhealthy relationship. The former is supportive, safe, trusting. The latter is not supportive, can be unsafe or even manipulative. I work with kids and teens on a regular basis helping them to navigate the friendships in their life. While it is natural during pre-teen and teen years for friends to come and go, for there to be some contention and subsequent "make up"...it is incredibly important that we help our kids to develop the skills to recognize healthy and unhealthy relationships. Skills they can use not only now, but that will grow with them as they form new friendships in the future.

I woke up angry. While I am immensely thankful for the surgeon generals advisory on social media protection for our children, it feels a bit late in the game. Our children have been struggling for going on at least a decade. I have watched them spiral year after year....left to their own devices while facing the worlds most brilliant minds in the social media space.....that prey on our kids and keep algorithms in place that perpetuate the constant online cycle. I am disgusted by it. And frustrated. But we are NOT helpless. WE can put parameters in place. I give you tips and tools that are free that you can begin to use immediately to protect your kids. If you need help navigating this space...whether it is learning how to device checks or how to have hard conversations...I am here to help. [email protected] www.knbcommunications.com

In this episode I talk about how my dads “comment” about my kids bio-hazard of a bedroom... led me to thinking about the battles I pick with my kids…versus the ones he picked with me. And some of them are REALLY different. And that’s ok. :)

Do you feel like your kid/teen is addicted to their phone and social media? Do YOU feel addicted to your social media? Have you ever considered that your child maybe bingeing their social media? What does all of this mean when it comes to our kids and their mental health? Most importantly what can we do to help? In this episode we take a look at these behaviors, and the implications for healthy tech navigation going forward.

Amy Robbins, an Atlanta-based LPC, ACS, CPCS, and Certified EMDR therapy clinician, has been providing therapeutic services to Atlanta area children, teens, adults, couples, and families since 1999.

She is the owner of Amy Robbins Counseling which is located in Atlanta. Clients are seen in office and/or virtual for therapy. There are 5 therapists that are full time and work with Amy.

Amy  leads workshops, webinars and events for therapists locally and nationally. Amy provides clinical supervision to therapists across the nation and has done so since 2003.

On the therapy side, Amy see adults for a variety of reasons including divorce, relationships, grief, depression, anxiety, adjustment to life changes, trauma, parenting and the list goes on.

Amy is certified in EMDR Therapy, a trauma-based tool that provides fast results. Many clients seek Amy out for her trauma work and for EMDR Therapy.

Amy also sees couples for therapy as well and utilizes the Gottman Method as well as Relational Therapy, highlighting Esther Perel and Terry Real. Read Us by Terry Real to get a good grasp on your relationship and to see the foundation that Amy operates from.

Amy Robbins LPC, CPCS

706-406-3404 [email protected] www.amyrobbinscounseling.com 1986 Hosea L Williams Drive NE

As parents we want to protect our children from harm.  I get the question a lot, am I a bad parent for giving my child social media?  We see the dangers associated with social media, gaming and devices....but we are also faced with most every child having a device.  So when that time comes as a parent to make the decision to give our child one...we then become faced with "Did I do the right thing?"  "Am I a bad parent?"  Parent guilt is the absolute worst.  You...we...are not bad parents.  I walk you through these feeling...and hopefully give you permission to give yourself a bit of grace.

Does your child have a "right to privacy" when it comes to their device and social media?  As parents are we invading their privacy by checking their phones and what they are doing on social media?  This is always a sensitive topic, and one that gets brought up frequently when I work with parents...and kids.  Parents tend to be on the fence with their answers...and kids unanimously agree that it is an invasion of their privacy.  The problem lies in that they are putting information on a device in which the information does not stay there...it is typically shared with others in a very public format.  I chat about the idea of privacy, are we invading it...and my thoughts after working closely with parents and kids and in this space.  

When your child brings you something that they saw on social media, that maybe they should not have seen...do you immediately have the freak out face? Do you get upset?  Do you take the device away?  Do you take the social media away?  This is fear based parenting.  Our knee jerk reaction is to protect our kids.  This is hard to do online.  So when our kids share something hard with us, we immediately want to remove it to protect them.  In this episode I talk about why that can be harmful, and how we can flip the script to form closer relationships with our children by leading with curiosity and thankfulness. I also give specific responses when faced with various situations.  

Social Media platforms have become a place for one big popularity contest.  How many videos can you push through?  How much content can you create?  Is it GOOD enough?  Only to fall victim to an algorithm that not only decides if it will push your information through but it also forces us into "liking, commenting and following" in hopes of seeing that account again....and it forces the account owner to constantly beg for these likes, comments and follows in hopes that their info stays within the feed.  It removes all organic communication which is what fb, insta and tik tok continue to say they encourage.  I am a huge proponent of why we should not attach our feelings of self worth to a digital algorithm.  I discuss this and what we can do to make sure we not only protect ourselves but our children as well.