Ditch the Guilt: Media, Stress, and Parent-Child Relationships with Dr. Lara Wolfers

Parents increasingly recognize how family screen time shapes child development. But that awareness can bring guilt or shame when digital devices creep into daily life. On this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry talks with Dr. Lara Wolfers, a leading researcher on how stress and guilt intersect with family media use, and Assistant Professor of Digital Lives and Head of the Center of Digital Lives at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Wolfers explains when guilt can be constructive versus when it can be harmful to the parent-child relationship. She offers suggestions for navigating societal pressures and daily demands, and encourages parents to practice self-compassion. 

In this episode, you will learn:

• How parents use media for coping and media use links to stress and guilt. 
• Why social standards around limiting digital media use can cause guilt and stress—yet also help adults curb their own use around children.
• How parent guilt and stress around screen habits can negatively impact parent-child relationships.
• Why being more intentional with media use can restore control and ease guilt and stress.  
• Why there is a disconnect between how we judge others’ media use vs. our own use.
• Which variables matter when deciding if screen time is “good” or “bad.”

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au