What if the biggest mistake parents are making with technology is believing parental controls actually work?
In this episode of Screen Less Play More, parenting educator and former middle school teacher Emily Cherkin exposes the uncomfortable truth about parental controls, "kid-safe" tech, and why most digital guardrails fail long before parents realize it.
Emily explains how children easily bypass filters, why tech companies profit from parents' false sense of security, and how technology is increasingly being used to solve problems it created in the first place. We unpack why smartphones undermine independence, self-regulation, and real-world problem solving—and why delaying phones isn't deprivation, but protection.
This conversation goes beyond screen time limits to examine how school-issued devices, educational technology, AI tools, and constant connectivity are reshaping attention, learning, privacy, and childhood itself. Emily shares why phones don't belong in bedrooms, how modeling behavior matters more than rules, and what parents can do today to raise kids who are confident, capable, and emotionally resilient without relying on apps to do the parenting for them.
Emily and Cynthia's conversation will help you tremendously if you are dealing with the following:
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Are you struggling to limit your child's screen time without daily battles?
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Do parental controls really protect your kids online—or are they giving you a false sense of security?
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How much screen time is too much for your child's brain development?
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Are smartphones and iPads hurting your child's focus, independence, or social skills?
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Why does your child keep bypassing every parental control you set?
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How can parents model healthy technology use without being hypocrites?
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What skills are kids missing when screens replace real-world play and relationships?
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How do you teach media literacy so your child can spot ads, misinformation, and online manipulation?
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Are schools giving kids too much access to technology and AI tools before they're ready?
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How can we raise independent, critical-thinking kids in a world full of addictive apps and social media?
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What's the best way to balance screens, play, and family connection in today's digital world?
If you want even more from this episode, become a subscriber at Apple Podcasts and join THE PLAYERS CLUB.... Where 'Screen Less Play More' insiders get smart about screens and serious about play! You can hear ten bonus minutes from this episode where Emily discusses her lawsuit against PowerSchool, the state of young professionals today, and how to make your kids media savy!
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Welcome to the Screen Less Play More podcast — the best parenting podcast for raising balanced, confident kids in the digital age by reducing screen time, managing gaming and social media, and restoring play-based childhoods.
Hosted by Cynthia Dvorak of ScreenLessPlayMore.com, we share expert advice and research-backed strategies to help parents create healthy screen habits, set realistic tech boundaries, and build stronger family connection without constant monitoring or power struggles. Each episode gives you practical tools for reducing screen time battles, ensuring online safety for kids, and age-appropriate digital limits. We discuss if there is such thing as healthy screen time, and what are some good guidelines for screen time by age. It's the podcast for moms and the podcast for dads who care about keeping kids balanced and brilliant!
But it's not all about screens! Screen Less Play More is also about the benefits of free play, outdoor play, and imaginative play so your children can thrive both online and offline. Look no further for executive tech strategies, research-backed tools, ideas for screen free entertainment, and screen free activites for kids from tiny to teenager. We are big on play, especially risky play, outdoor play, and the friluftsliv outdoor lifestyle.
Through interviews with experts, educators, and authors, we aim to make you more intentional parents, mindful parents, and happy parents! Whether you're into calm parenting, gentle parenting, or FAFO parenting- we have advice that will guide your decisions around digital technology and play based learning (and play just for the sake of play!)
What is the best parenting podcast about screen time and kids?
What's the best parenting podcast about play and screens? Check out the top 6 episodes from 2025 of Screen Less Play More : https://screenlessplaymore.com/top-rated-parenting-podcast-episodes-of-the-year-our-most-listened-most-loved-conversations/
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