10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World: How Parents Can Stop Smartphones, Social Media, and Gaming from Taking Over Their Children's Lives

by Jean M. Twenge

Jean Twenge, PhD, award-winning professor of psychology and author of the “lavishly informative” (The New York Times) Generations, returns with a concrete and accessible guide to raising resilient, successful, happy children in a time of overwhelming technological intrusion.

Parenting today often feels like an uphill battle, with technology invading every corner of our kids’ lives. From the rise of social media addiction to the growing mental health crisis among children and teens, parents are grappling with how they can create a healthy, balanced relationship with technology for their kids.

Bestselling author Jean Twenge provides the much-needed playbook parents have been asking for. Drawing on her decades as a psychologist studying the impact of technology and mental health and her personal experience as the mother of three teenagers, Twenge offers ten actionable rules for raising independent and well-rounded children. From setting “No Social Media Until 16” boundaries to creating no-phone zones like bedrooms and family dinners, these rules are grounded in evidence yet simple enough to incorporate into any family routine.

Short, empowering, and timely, this book equips parents with the tools to combat not just immediate harms such as online bullying but also helps to nurture essential life skills, preparing kids and teens to become autonomous adults.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Technology, Audiobook, Education, Family, Childrens

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2025

About the author

Dr. Twenge frequently gives talks and seminars on teaching and working with today’s young generation based on a dataset of 11 million young people. Her audiences have included college faculty and staff, high school teachers, military personnel, camp directors, and corporate executives. Her research has been covered in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and The Washington Post, and she has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Fox and Friends, NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, and National Public Radio.

She holds a BA and MA from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She lives in San Diego with her husband and three daughters.

Reviews

[Emily | emilyisoverbooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

TLDR: Read this instead of The Anxious Generation.

Thanks to Atria for the gifted copy of this book!

So I will be honest… I read THE ANXIOUS GENERATION with my book club earlier this year, and kind of felt like it could be an article. I appreciated all the research and agreed with the sentiment, but it was a little on the long side for me. TEN RULES, however, was exactly the book I was looking for!!! This is such a practical guide to parenting in the modern day age with technology, backed up by data and research, filled with personal stories, and still short enough to feel like an efficient read. I agreed with literally everything in this book and thought it was well organized, and easy to get through. This is accessible for any parent. Please read this!!!

[Jess Edmisten · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some interesting ideas, but I found several contradictions that didn’t sit right with me. The author praises how safe children’s lives are today compared to the past, suggesting that kids can handle more freedom, like running errands or walking to the park at eight. I don’t disagree that kids are safer, but it’s important to recognize why. Safer communities, responsible parenting, and better systems make these freedoms possible. Glorifying the freedom of her own childhood while implying kids today should replicate it felt a little tone-deaf. It’s not inherently safer now than in the 80s or 90s; it’s the result of intentional change.

At the same time, she is extremely strict about digital spaces. Social media, online content, and devices are tightly controlled, giving children almost no chance to make choices or prove their judgment. That tension felt contradictory, in the real world, kids are trusted to navigate independence, but online, they are treated as incapable of responsibility. This approach also included assumptions I found problematic, like claiming that having a phone does not reduce the likelihood of a child being a victim of a crime. For me, that’s simply not true;
phones are often essential for safety, and I would like to see data backing up her claims.

Some of the points I agreed with include her idea of putting friction in children’s paths to prevent harmful habits, the no-phones-in-bed rule, and taking books everywhere to encourage reading. I also appreciated her note that parents should “not let perfect be the enemy of the good.” The guidance around gradually introducing devices, for example, starting with a non-smartphone before a smartphone felt practical and reasonable. Blocking texting or social media during school hours makes sense in theory, though in my mind, phones are sometimes essential for emergencies like school gun violence or health situations.

I disagreed with several other perspectives. She criticizes activities like paint-by-numbers or video games in ways that feel unnecessarily judgmental, ignoring the happiness or resilience they can foster. I also found her tone condescending at times, especially when discussing Gen Z or digital literacy, as if younger generations need to be managed rather than taught to navigate responsibly. Her approach sometimes felt like micromanaging, rather than giving children space to learn from mistakes.

The book also raised valid points about encouraging diverse interests beyond digital gaming, such as sports, hobbies, reading, and outdoor time. She correctly notes that if gaming becomes a child’s sole interest, interventions are needed, but some of the framing about addiction felt exaggerated. Correlation does not equal causation, and kids might turn to gaming as a route of escapism rather than gaming causing depression.

Overall, the book offers some practical guidelines and interesting reflections on parenting in the digital age. The key takeaways for me were: put friction in the right places, gradually introduce devices, set boundaries around sleep and school time, and teach responsibility rather than micromanaging. Still, the contradictions between her approach to real-world freedom and digital restrictions and unsupported claims along with some of the condescending tones made me read the book critically rather than fully embrace her philosophy. Parenting in a high-tech world requires nuance, judgment, and giving children opportunities to grow while keeping them safe, and that balance wasn’t fully realized here. For me- it was too much independence virtually and too much micromanaging digitally.

[Amanda Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very practical real life book to give you all the tools to protect kids from the dangers of the internet. It's best if you read this with babies and/or very young children, as a lot of information is best implemented early. However it still gives solid advice for being safe in a very unsafe world. I learned things I want to implement for myself as well as my 13 year old! A lot of this feels hard to read, with scary statistics. It's not a feel good or easy read at all. Thank you for giving parents tools in a world that feels chaotic! Thank you to Netgally for the ARC. Definitely recommend for all parents, or soon to be parents!

[Christopher Sowder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for modern parents.

[Erin Matson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have a child, you know:

The devices are out of control. In many cases, our schools are pushing them. It’s a disaster for our children and it sucks.

If I hear one more person without children opining on parental controls, or other issues—you have no idea. About the time, the tears, the deviousness. It is everywhere. Your use of technology has nothing to do with what is happening to (frankly, destroying) young people.

Jean Twenge’s book is filled with extremely practical, detailed blueprints of how to rein it in. As a parent of a tween, I found it timely and spot-on.

[Sarah (sarahs_shelves_sc) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a mom to a 10 year old who desperately wants a phone, I was definitely in the target audience for this book. Sadly for my girl, the book only further convinced me that phones for kids are a bad idea.

Twenge shares research galore showing the links between screen time (social media in particular) and depression in teens and teens, and reveals some surprising facts about how early most kids get a phone. Did you know that, on average, most kids get their first smartphone at 11? Or that almost 40% of kids between age 10-12 are on social media?

The facts tell us that kids are not mentally or emotionally equipped to deal with social media or with the addictive algorithms they employ, yet parents are handing over phones due to societal pressures and the old favorite, "everyone else but me has one." While my kids still won't be getting a smart phone anytime soon, I do feel a bit better equipped to deal with it when the time comes after reading this book.

I will say that one chapter definitely didn't work for me, which was about giving more independence in kids' offline lives. I was nodding my head until the author said that kids between 4-7 could be sent several aisles over in the grocery store to bring items back to you, that was a bridge too far for me!

Thanks to Atria for the gifted copy. All opinions are mine.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea how many metrics of young people's wellbeing (emotional, social, and academic) started a steep decline around 2012, the year that smartphone use crossed the 50% threshold. Already a proud "mean parent" holdout on giving my 7th grader a cell phone, this book made me realize I've been too lenient with the other devices we do let her use. She read this book alongside me, initially under duress, but ultimately pronounced it interesting.

Thankfully there are more basic phone options on the market now for those of us who follow this line of thinking to consider for our tweens and teens. If only our school district would get with the program and ban phones from bell to bell instead of their pointless "not during class" policy. I swore off teaching at the secondary level after subbing in middle and high school classrooms where kids were only pretending to do schoolwork, sometimes not even bothering to pretend, while consumed with their phones.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very succinct easily digested advice for raising kids with tech. They also deliver the message without being preachy or shaming, and present their own missteps they’ve had with their kids and tech. I’ve read previous books on this topic, and while they’re great too, they have tended to dive deep into the research which can be a bit overwhelming to a parent just looking for action items. I listened to the audio for this, but plan to buy a hard copy to reference in later years. Definitely recommend to parents.

[Annie Delano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty of overlap with The Anxious Generation, but much easier to digest and contains lots of practical advice that I intend to implement. Some of the advice was already familiar to me, like keeping devices out of bedrooms, so those chapters were easy to breeze through. But other chapters have information and suggestions I intend to jot down before returning the book to the library.

[Ginny Yurich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical and helpful!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after hearing renege speak at a conference about the crisis amongst American youth. She knows what she is talking about as the parent of three teens, but it’s scary how difficult it has been for someone as knowledgeable as she is to put these common sense rules in place. Every parent of a five year old should read this so they are prepared to provide guidance to their child before sliding down a dangerous and slippery slope

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful - having two tweens myself
Thinking of buying a copy to keep around in fact (read from library)

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. As with any parenting book, some things can be tweaked for your particular kid/situation. But overall this is the best thing I’ve read out there so far.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't stop thinking about this book. I have really young kids but already I'm starting to think about how I want to raise them in today's world. Even at the age of 2, we get questions about if they will have tablets or not. This book was exactly the confirmation that we needed that our plans for personal devices for our kids are the right plans! I've told so many people about this book because I can't get it out of my head.

It would have been a five star read but I felt like this book was assuming a reader who didn't grow up with technology until they were in college, but I had Instagram in high school. Because of that, it already felt slightly dated.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance copy!

💫 4.5/5 Overall

[Willie Gillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read for parents but also for those who want tips for balancing life in an age of smartphones! I've read other books from author Jean Twenge but this one is the most practical book she's written to date.

10 rules and they all are important.

This book is very important for the age that we live in. As most of us are distracted constantly by the little computers in our pockets and on our wrists. It's a great refresher on being aware of the tools that we use and not to be a slave to them.

I recommend this book to anyone with kids who want to raise independent adults eventually. I also recommend this to adults who want more awareness of their time and attention to their phone use.

4.5 stars!

[Kyle Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘10 Rules’ makes very few points and makes them clearly: electronic screens and social media are toxic for kids, and there are simple rules to deploy to decrease kids’ screen usage. I appreciate that the author doesn’t equivocate; she directly names the companies (Meta, TikTok) that are societal villains and tormentors of children. This book should bring together parents from across the political spectrum. The Epstein crowd/ pizzagaters and educated technoskeptics may unite in unlikely union to save the children – the studies and anecdotes cited are poignant and leave little room to doubt that something needs to be done to prevent corruption of our youth.

After succinctly demonstrating that internet exposure is toxic for the juvenile body and psyche, the book wisely preaches electronic abstinence for kids. But that’s all it does. The claims of toxicity and the framework offered for abstinence could be presented in five-ish PowerPoint slides. The rest of the book is filled with mock Q&As for parents who need help debating children on rules, repetitive info on the harm caused by social media, and exhaustive descriptions of channels by which harm can be inflicted. A millennial fluent in the social media ecosystem beyond Facebook can skim whereas a boomer grandparent finding themselves raising their orphaned grandchild should hang on every word.

My rating is political and moral: 5/5 stars, because people should be aware of the risks associated with internet and screen use (if they aren’t already) and heed the warnings. “Exposure reduction results in harm reduction” is the narrow but valuable scope of ‘10 Rules’ that leaves a parent with, naturally, a “rules”-based, flimsy shield of abstinence against truly morally corrupt forces. But since when did anyone believe calls for abstinence were sufficient to protect against culturally ubiquitous, biologically irresistible, self- (and other-) destructive temptations?

While the book offers the parent canned dialectical prompts to justify the abstinence, redirect a kid’s time and attention, and discourage social media FOMO, it has no depth in discussing what we can’t change, that modern children will grow up in the IRL cultural milieu of the online world. It’s not enough to proscribe apps (or vapes or sex) and convince children they’re dangerous whereas alternative activities are more healthful and edifying. Kids need to understand the monster the parent keeps them away from, and they need beliefs and conviction that we and our communities deserve protection from that monster.

That is to say, children require new media literacy and training in critically analyzing social media information to navigate this new culture, yet school curricula focus almost exclusively on the dying medium of text. While this book is collated into a handy list of device and app prohibitions, parents need a framework for introducing children to topics that help them understand the online world and its driving interests, its visual distortions, its algorithmic steering, its echo chambers, its total epistemic atomization of subjective experience that precludes a cohesive shared reality, and its thirst traps.

Also, “this stuff is real bad for YOU, kid,” but so what? A list of rules inspires no children’s hearts to throb with anti-screen conviction, rallies no teen crusader to raise a polemical battle cry against the algorithms, and primes no youth’s stomachs to churn before crossing a dangerous threshold: the vertiginous precipice before the bottomless pit of brainrot. There are frustratingly few resources to help kids morally navigate the modern, online culture.

Humanity needs a new generation who can discern moral problems and externalities in new, alluring media. They must be not merely cognizant, but intolerant, of personal and social harms mediated through the apps. We need a generation that treasures basic social virtues enough to militantly conserve them while human to human connection itself drowns under the indifferent tide of the ever-rising social media feed.

The book acknowledges that technology is constantly shifting, but the absence of discussion on AI chat tools is conspicuous for a book published in 2025. Hopefully an updated edition can be released that includes the concerning early research on AI usage.

[Janereads10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parenting today feels like navigating a digital minefield without a map. That's why I grabbed "10 Rules for Raising Kids In A High-Tech World" by Dr. Twenge, and I'm so glad I did.

As a mom of teenagers, I constantly struggle with technology decisions. How do I keep my kids tech-savvy without letting screens consume their lives? This book arrived at exactly the right moment, offering practical guidance for this digital tightrope walk.

I appreciate Twenge's balanced approach. She understands kids need technology skills to thrive in today's world while acknowledging the very real dangers of excessive screen time and social media exposure.

Some recommendations felt immediately doable, while others had me thinking "that ship has sailed." For instance, implementing device-free dinner times was simple, but trying to scale back certain gaming habits proved challenging with my 14-year-old who's been playing for years.

I completely agree with her stance on social media. Both my kids are under sixteen and, despite peer pressure, don't have social media accounts. Twenge's research on the dangers reinforced this decision.

What makes this book particularly valuable is its flexibility. I'm already adapting several strategies to fit our family's specific dynamics, picking the approaches that address our biggest concerns while respecting my teenagers' maturity levels.

For parents feeling overwhelmed by raising kids in this high-tech world, Twenge's guidance offers both relief and practical steps forward. This isn't about perfect parenting but making informed choices in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Special thanks to Atria Books for my advance copy. As always, the thoughts shared here are completely my own.

[Atlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

📱🚫👶

Big thanks to Atria Books for the ARC of 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World by Jean M. Twenge 🙌

So parenting in 2025 = constant battles with tiny glowing rectangles. Enter Twenge, who basically hands parents a rulebook for surviving the smartphone/social media apocalypse.

Vibe Check: 📖✔️
Practical, research-backed, and short enough that you can actually finish it before your kid begs for an iPhone again. This is less “hand-wringing thinkpiece” and more “here’s how to set boundaries without losing your mind.”

What I Liked:
✔️ Super practical — rules you can actually do (like no-phones-at-dinner and no social media until 16)
✔️ A nice mix of research + real mom energy (she’s got 3 teens herself)
✔️ I felt like I had backup when telling kids “no, you’re not getting Snapchat”
✔️ Honestly comforting to know other parents are struggling too

What Didn’t Work for Me:
✖️ Some rules felt a little dated (the grocery store aisle independence suggestion for 4-year-olds had me like… ma’am, what??)
✖️ If your kids already have phones/social media, parts of this will feel like “too little, too late”
✖️ Sometimes I wanted more nuance on families that need tech (single parents, low-income households, etc.)

Tropes / Themes:
• No phones at the dinner table 🍽️
• No social media until 16 🚫
• Parenting in the digital minefield 💻
• Building resilience + independence 🌱

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Not the flashiest parenting book, but definitely one of the most useful. It’s the rare kind of guide you’ll actually reference IRL when you’re staring down the dreaded “But everyone else has one!” argument.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean M. Twenge’s 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World is a clear, practical attempt to turn an overwhelming topic into a workable set of guardrails. Twenge’s central move is to treat “tech” as an ecosystem—not just a smartphone decision—so the conversation has to include bedrooms and sleep, social media, gaming systems, tablets/laptops, school-day expectations, and the ways all of that interacts with mental health and development. I appreciated how the rules function as a framework you can actually react to, rather than a vague “be careful with screens” message.

That said, I’ve read a fair amount in this area, and at a big-picture level many of the ideas weren’t new to me. The value here wasn’t novelty as much as synthesis: the rules create a coherent structure for thinking through what to allow, when to allow it, and what boundaries matter most. Even when I didn’t agree with every prescription or timeline, it was useful to have the positions stated plainly enough that I could test them against my own family’s needs.

For me, the book’s biggest benefit was prompting a fresh look at options for my newly-13-year-old daughter. It helped me re-center the goal as building a sensible framework for technology as a whole—clear expectations, consistent guardrails, and a gradual ramp-up of responsibility—rather than letting the “first smartphone” question dominate everything. A solid, readable framework that’s especially helpful as a periodic reset, even if you’re already familiar with the broader debate.

[Beth Von Voigt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be completely spot on with it’s claims and wonderfully supportive as a parent. It can be used as an informative tool as well as for guidance on how to handle issues surrounding social media and electronics with your children. Most parents dealing with these issues were growing up in an age where social media either did not exist or was in its infancy. In addition, phones didn’t have the same capabilities then as they do now. I’ve often heard parents talking about how they wish there was a handbook to help them deal with issues as they arise. This book can be exactly that and so very helpful. It will also help you to avoid issues before they arise. To be clear, the book is not anti-electronic or anti-social media, but gives guidelines and suggestions for when they should be introduced and used. I particularly found the section on helping teens develop independence to be useful and I loved that the author gave “pushbacks” to each topic to help head those off at the pass. *Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Rob]

I first learned about Jean Twenge by reading Jonathan Haidt's fantastic book, The Anxious Generation. I am grateful for these kinds of authors, who back up their claims with data. They are both very empowering to children as well, like paradoxically they impose restrictions, and offer the trade off of greater freedom (i.e. walking around, exploring, playing unsupervised and off screens).

I am very fortunate to live in a wilderness adjacent area, where my kids can roam the hills and valleys outside of their backdoor. I am also fortunate to have very obedient, well behaved (for the most part) kids, who are open to these types of discussions and buy-in to the concepts addressed by Twenge.

Will I eat my words one day? Perhaps. My children are still young, and as the peer pressure increases, I am sure the desire to have a phone, etc., will increase. But for now, I will take what I can. I am not a Luddite--my kids played on screens today. But, I believe strongly in the types of parenting Twenge advocates for, and my wife and I are united and consistent in our enforcement and implementation of rules.

[Summer Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as practical advice goes for how to parent with a kid with tech, I thought it was great. It got to the point and had logical arguments for each rule. I was less enamored with the writing style. It felt like a podcast mommy blogger who uses popular books to cite research (Hunt Gather Parent, The Anxious Generation, etc) I was surprised the author had a PHD in Pyschology at a respected University because the writing was so blasé.

I appreciated that she is navigating this in her own home and that she was willing to admit mistakes while still protecting the identity of her children. A lot of the things she talks about, I also experienced. I have had to back pedal on several things, before I felt I got it right. She captured some of that exhaustion of needing to tailor tech use for each child. As soon as you figure it out for one, the next teen down the line discovers a new use and its a whole 'nother ball game.

This is the book I would have liked to see tacked on, or read right after the Anxious Generation.

[Anna Banana · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kid is only 2, but I'm thinking he won't be getting a cell phone until he's 30, and I'm only kind of joking. This book has lots of great practical tips for helping your kids avoid tech. I really like how, well, strict the author is with her own kids. We didn't have a TV in our house when I was a kid since my parents thought that TV rots your brain. Unfettered internet access and smart phones seem a million times worse to me. I have been worrying about how my kid is going to be the weird kid without a cell phone, but this book is totally unapologetic about setting strict limits around tech. So I guess my kid is just going to be weird. And I guess I'm just going to be the weird mom at the school board meetings complaining about tech in schools. Sorry, not sorry. Thanks, Jean Twenge, for having the courage of your convictions and for helping me to do the same.

[⟡ Emily │ darkreverie ☾⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This helped me understand how to navigate having a child that would like their own phone. It is insightful in a way that no advice from your family member can even provide. Being conscious about what my child is consuming online is something that matters to me. There were little to no rules/safeguards about using electronics when I was a child. It is so vital for parents to stay aware and help them avoid harmful things online. It really is about about having those healthy conversations that set boundaries. We are responsible for protecting their self-esteem, protecting them from strangers, and giving them healthy pushback. I appreciated the thorough way the author explained things, and even validated my concerns.

[Trish Kallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for parents who are beginning to think about cell phones for their kids. My children are still pretty young and quiet a bit far from this phase (I hope) so I found some parts weren't relevant to me (not now at least). She really goes into the specifics on many topics.
I think she has laid out a great set of rules that parents should try and follow to help our youth navigate the technology in their lives. I could see myself reading this book again in a couple years when I am grappling with this situation.
I also like that it's really short. I loved Jonathan Haidt's book but it was very long and for some people too long. She does a good job at summarizing some the main points of his book.

[Ben Oberholtzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Put boundaries on your kids’ tech usage and don’t be afraid to be the one in your children’s friends groups to do things differently- other people probably wish they were doing the same thing!

The book is not bad, but it just didn’t have much to add to the conversation from many other related books I’ve read in the past few years about boundaries on tech for yourself and children. This book had a lot more stories from just the authors perspective raising her children, and while they aren’t bad I would have liked to see other situations and parenting. I think a huge gap in these tech boundary parenting books is what to do when the parents are split. From my friends this had created the biggest challenges in parenting.

[Crabbygirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

first off, I like Jean Twenge and I think her data sets are really valuable to understanding what's happening out there to our kids BUT this book should really have been a magazine article. the rules are straight-forward: You're the parent so be in charge, and no phones (or any other internet-enabled devices) for as long as possible, and as much as possible. Then we can break these general rules into sub-rules like: no social media before 16, or no phones in school, on vacations or overnight in bedrooms. If you've read Generations or IGen, you'll already know most of these stats and stories. The only new info is how often and how creatively her own children try to break the rules - which on its own is very telling at the addictive nature of these devices. Proceed with Lots of caution.

[Sharlene N]

This is such a practical guide to parenting in the modern-day age with technology, backed up by data and research, filled with personal stories, and still short enough to feel like an efficient read. It was well organized, and easy to get through and is accessible for any parent. 

I'm going to be honest it feels really drastic to me - but it did convict me in many areas of my parenting and gave me some practical things to implement.  I probably won't be doing everything the book suggests, but some baby steps will still likely make a huge difference.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most practical, empowering book I've ever read about tech. She gives voice to everything that has felt right to me. Our oldest is 13 with a brick phone. He, of course, complains he's the only one, but the book has given me so much more confidence that we are doing what's best for him. It's scientifically backed research as well as antidotal because Dr. Twenge has teens herself, so she genuinely understands what it looks like in the real world. Every parent should read this. It empowers and reminds us that we are allowed to make rules for our kids that are best for their development rather than follow the crowd.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listening to this felt like a distilled, straight-to-the-point version of Anxious Generation…all the big takeaways without the big build-up. Highly recommend!! My girls are still small, but I loved having this clear, practical advice tucked away for when we’re staring down the teen-phone years. Smart, research based, and with clear instructions / guidance on rule setting. One piece of advice I really liked that she mentions at the beginning is that parents are trying to raise good adults, not good kids. It makes the inevitable “bad parent” guilt of “depriving” kids of things that they may want that are bad for them feel less… bad.