Joining me this week on the podcast is Johnny Tock. Johnny is the Director of Admissions at ReSTART, a program that specializes in technology addiction. The subject matter of this episode is a huge concern for many families, including my own. A survey from Parents Together found that of 3,000 parents surveyed, 85 percent were worried about the length of time their children spend online. If you’ve been a listener here, you know that I am a mom to two teenage boys. My boys are gamers. They enjoy gaming. A lot. And so do many of their friends. And when they aren’t gaming they are probably watching a YouTube video, or on Snapchat or . Yes, our kids are stuck at home and bored to tears right now and that is certainly making it harder to limit online activity. But tech abuse and addiction have been happening long before the pandemic. Do I think my boys have an addiction? No. But I’m also not naive enough to think that it isn’t possible. So when I learned about the ReSTART program through a friend, it was clear to me that I needed to publish an episode about the subject of technology and gaming addiction. One more thing worth mentioning...after I interviewed Johnny for this episode, our family sat down together one night and had an honest and not-so-easy conversation about our technology use. We agreed (some more reluctantly than others) that it was time for a change. So we drafted a contract and set some healthy technology use boundaries with very clear consequences that would be enforced without question if/when those boundaries get broken. We’re only in week one of the contract but so far so good. I’ll keep you posted on my social media if you are interested in following me for updates. And if you want to learn more about implementing a contract for your own family, feel free to reach out to me via the High School Hamster Wheel website or Facebook page. I'd be glad to help.

Connect with me on the High School Hamster Wheel Facebook page or on my website. Join me and my co-host, Jay DuSold, in our Life After 12th Facebook group where we help and encourage parents of career-confused teens!

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