Breaking the Trance: A Practical Guide for Parenting the Screen-Dependent Child

by George T. Lynn, Cynthia C. Johnson

An easy-to-follow guide that will help parents understand screen dependence at home. Recreational screen media use is quickly replacing family time, by no fault of parents. They are doing the best they can based on the information available to them, which claims nothing can be done to stop their children's screen dependence. Parents seeking change need a new framework for action. Breaking the Trance does not blame parents or vilify technology, but it does give parents clear and effective strategies to implement immediately. The results will restore a sense of care and connection within the family. George T. Lynn, MA, LMHC , is a psychotherapist from Bellevue, Washington, who has pioneered the use of psychotherapy for adults and children with neuropsychological issues. George is author of the Survival Strategies for Parenting series, Genius! Nurturing the Spirit of the Wild Oppositional Child and The Asperger Plus Child . Cynthia C Johnson, MA , utilizes in-home individualized therapeutic tutoring to help unique K–12 learners reach their full potential. She is the founding director of the Venture Program at Bellevue College in Washington, the first degree program in the nation designed for students challenged with learning and intellectual disabilities.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 18, 2016

Reviews

[Staeci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solidified what I already knew, but helped to push me to make the changes. Handing it over to my husband next. Wish I would have had it sooner. Looking forward to seeing changes in my family.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the author to be very absolutist about his opinions. He said that men in marriages always do this and women always do that and women are always more affected by what goes on in the home and I just couldn’t get on board with the stereotyping. I also firmly believe that kids do well when they can and getting at the root cause of screen addiction is important. I couldn’t finish the book. I can’t recommend it.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

On one hand, a lot of good info about WHY a lot of time on electronics is unhealthy for children and how to assess a) to what degree the problem is with your child and b) whether or not they may have an underlying problem such as ADHD. It also goes over strategies for how to deal with the problem in a way that will maintain peace within your family.

On the other hand, EXTREMELY repetitive. Definitely assumes that the child is just using unlimited electronic time, while ours has had a strict 2-hour a day limit since very young childhood and still exhibits dependence on video games in the ways described in the book. Also has a very uncomfortable fixation with the physique of young boys, saying that they look weak and sunken-chested. And yes, children's inactivity is certainly a concern, but it just really specifically has a problem with boys looking weak which feels very creepily obsessive about boys needing to be masculine. The whole book is SUPER gendered also, and does sort of explain itself in the beginning about that, but still just kinda annoying since I was reading the book regarding a female child who has what seems to be a strong video game dependence, but the book keeps insisting girls have problems with social media use, and not often video games. I know it is going off statistics and seems to be talking more about children in middle school/high school so is probably not totally off-base but still, I found a little disconnect from the book because in many ways it didn't make an effort to validate my experience.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an informative book about how to get your family on the same page about screen dependence. I appreciated the focus on the solution in this book and the resources it provides instead of a focus mainly on the negatives of screen time.
I think the book Resetting your Child’s Brain has a more detailed step by step plan for screen addicted families but this book has some good information as well. I like how they have families collectively go over their value system and work together to create goals from there.

[Aleš Bednařík · Rating 3 out of 5]

Táto kniha je zaujímavá kvôli dvom veciam:
1. Autori sa na dieťa pozerajú očami psychiatrickými - svojich pacientov spolu s rodičmi stretávajú vo vážnych situáciách, kedy deti zlyhávajú v škole, medzi kamarátmi a doma - a je to kvôli závislosti na digitálnych médiách. Ak dieťa trávi priveľa času zavreté v izbe s hracou konzolou, TV, NTB a smartfónom - hraním alebo na sociálnych sieťach, je pravdepodobné, že preto sa mu nedarí v iných oblastiach.
Ten psychiatrický pohľad je, že vo viacerých častiach knihy rozoberajú ADHD, úzkosti, depresie, poruchy učenia, bipolárnu poruchu, aby pomohli rodičom uvedomiť si, čo je psychiatrický problém a čo je dôsledok závislosti od online sveta. Závislosť obvykle vytvára dôsledky spomenuté hore, ale netreba ich liečiť medikamentózne, ale digitálnou diétou. A to je druhý bod.
2. Kniha obsahuje celkom pekne a návodne opísaný postup, čo môžu rodičia robiť doma, ako môžu postupne zasahovať a pomôcť dieťaťu dostať sa zo závislosti od čiernej obrazovky, alebo ich jazykom pekne povedané - od nadmerného/ničivého užívania obrazovky vo voľnom čase - destructive recreational screen media use.

[Alison FP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very concise solution-focused expertise

If you are at all concerned that your child or teen is becoming dependent on screen use, I highly recommend this book. As a researcher myself, I don’t suffer through foolish drivel. This is evidence based and gives control back to normal family functioning.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been hogging this one trying to glean as much helpful information as possible! As a parent of teenage twins and a teacher, it has definitely been insightful. Recommended reading for anyone attempting to find balance in a digital world.

[Jennifer Weeks Ph.D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book with practical tips and guides for parents. Highly recommended.

[Charles J. Loomis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable insight to a serious problem

I recommend this book to anyone who interacts with children, of any age. I had no idea how bad this problem has become to the long-term mental growth of our children.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much needed book - thank you. I won it in a contest and it was an interesting and timely read.