Book
The Anxious Generation
Jonathan Haidt
This book documents the shift from play-based to phone-based childhood and the rise in teen mental health challenges.
SmartphonesSocial MediaAnxiety & Mental Health
Resources
Trusted books, articles, and tools
Books, articles, podcasts, and tools to help you go deeper — filtered by age and topic.
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Website
Wait Until 8th
waituntil8th.org
A national pledge and parent toolkit to delay personal smartphones.
SmartphonesParenting Approaches
Tool
Common Sense Media Family Tech Planner
Common Sense Media
Hands-on planning guides for device rules, app approvals, and family agreements.
Screen TimeParenting ApproachesSmartphones
Newsletter
After Babel
Jonathan Haidt
Ongoing essays and research updates on social media and youth wellbeing.
Social MediaAnxiety & Mental Health
Video
Screenagers
Delaney Ruston, MD
Documentary film about family life, devices, and emotional health.
Screen TimeAnxiety & Mental HealthParenting Approaches
Tool
AAP Family Media Plan
American Academy of Pediatrics
Create age-based media boundaries and routines with printable planning tools.
Screen TimeSleep
Research Study
Media and Young Minds
American Academy of Pediatrics
Policy guidance on screen use for young children and parent co-viewing.
Screen TimeSleep
Website
ESRB Ratings Guide
Entertainment Software Rating Board
Understand game content ratings and interactive elements before purchase.
Gaming
Website
Common Sense App Reviews
Common Sense Media
Age and content reviews for apps, games, and social platforms.
GamingSocial MediaSmartphones
Research Study
U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on Social Media and Youth
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Public health advisory on youth social media risk and protective actions.
Social MediaAnxiety & Mental Health
Article
How to Set Screen Time Limits That Work
Child Mind Institute
Practical scripts and routines for setting limits without daily conflict.
Screen TimeParenting Approaches
Research Study
Guidance for Generative AI in Education
UNESCO
Frameworks for responsible AI use by students, teachers, and schools.
AI
Article
How Students Should Use AI in School
KQED MindShift
Family-friendly guidance on when AI helps and when it harms learning.
AIParenting Approaches
Article
Devices in the Bedroom and Sleep Outcomes
Sleep Foundation
Why overnight device locations matter for sleep quality and school readiness.
SleepScreen Time
Tool
AI Literacy Toolkit for Families
Common Sense Media & Day of AI
A structured family toolkit with videos, slide decks, conversation cards, and simulation activities to build AI literacy together at home.
AIParenting Approaches
Research Study
Stanford Youth Safety and Digital Wellbeing Report 2025
Stanford Center for Digital Health
The 2025 Integrated Harm Framework from Stanford identifies 22 specific youth social media harms and provides policy and parental mitigation strategies.
Social MediaAnxiety & Mental HealthCyberbullying
Research Study
Research Study
The SHIELD Framework for Cyberbullying
MDPI International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Evidence-based SHIELD framework (Strengths, Healing, Interventions, Empowerment, Learning, Development) for parents and educators responding to cyberbullying.
CyberbullyingAnxiety & Mental HealthParenting Approaches
Research Study
UNICEF: Protecting Children in Online Gaming
UNICEF Innocenti
UNICEF's 2025 working paper on protecting children from extremism, predation, and grooming in online gaming environments.
GamingCyberbullying
Research Study
Connected and Protected: FOSI 2025 Online Safety Survey
Family Online Safety Institute
Nationwide survey findings on how families experience online safety, including what parents underestimate about children's digital activity.
SmartphonesSocial MediaParenting Approaches
Tool
PTA Connected: Ready, Tech, Go! Workshop Guide
National PTA
Facilitator guide for PTA-hosted parent workshops covering AI scams, algorithmic deepfakes, and age-appropriate app settings for school communities.
Parenting ApproachesAISocial Media
Tool
Bark Parental Controls
Bark Technologies
AI-powered monitoring tool that alerts parents to potential issues like cyberbullying, depression, and inappropriate content without reading every message.
SmartphonesSocial MediaCyberbullying
Tool
Google Family Link
Free parental controls for Android devices allowing parents to manage app approvals, set daily screen time limits, and track device location.
SmartphonesScreen Time
Tool
eSafety Commissioner: Family Tech Agreement (Under 5s)
eSafety Commissioner (Australian Government)
A printable family tech agreement template specifically designed for children under 5, with guidance on healthy early media habits.
Screen TimeParenting Approaches
Article
Sharenting and Your Child's Digital Footprint
First Things First
Practical guidance on the risks of oversharing children's images and information online, and how parents can become better stewards of their child's digital identity.
Privacy & Digital FootprintParenting Approaches
Article
The Dangers of Sharenting
Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Network
Explains how publicly shared photos and information can be used to create deepfakes, enable identity theft, and construct profiles of a child's routine.
Privacy & Digital Footprint
Article
APA: Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health
American Psychological Association
Clinical overview of how social media affects adolescent mental health, covering both benefits and harms, with APA's recommended protective factors.
Social MediaAnxiety & Mental Health
Article
Screen Time and Sleep: What New Studies Reveal
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
2025 research showing that each additional hour of screen use after bedtime raises insomnia risk by 59% and reduces nightly sleep duration by 24 minutes.
SleepScreen Time
Research Study
CDC: Screen Time and Health Outcomes in Teenagers
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC study on associations between screen time and physical, mental, and behavioral health outcomes among US teenagers.
Screen TimeAnxiety & Mental HealthSleep
Research Study
UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Students
UNESCO
UNESCO's framework outlining essential AI competencies for students across four dimensions: human-centered mindset, ethics, applications, and system design.
AI
Article
Internet Safety for Parents: Guiding Children Through the Digital Age
OUR Rescue
Practical internet safety guide covering how predators exploit gaming and social media, with actionable steps parents can take to protect children online.
CyberbullyingSocial MediaParenting Approaches
Article
Introducing Technology Contracts to Your Kids
Center for Online Safety
Guidance on how to frame device use as a conditional privilege and structure a formal family technology contract with clear expectations and consequences.
Parenting Approaches
Article
How to Talk to Kids About AI: A Family Guide
Canton Public Library / Bright Horizons
Family-friendly guide to setting AI house rules, including teaching children that AI is a tool not a friend, and establishing fact-checking habits.
AIParenting Approaches
Article
Yale Medicine: Social Media and Teen Mental Health - A Parent's Guide
Yale Medicine
Clinical guidance from Yale physicians on how to recognize social media's effects on teen mental health and when to seek professional support.
Social MediaAnxiety & Mental Health
Article
Positive Parenting in the Digital Age
Child Mind Institute
How to set up parental controls as part of an ongoing conversation rather than covert surveillance, keeping trust intact while maintaining appropriate oversight.
Parenting ApproachesSmartphones