My kid is 3 but this has been a big issue on my mind lately. I’ve read The Anxious Generation, The Screentime Solution, and The Art of Screentime over the past 9 months (with some other tech-adjacent books). My husband has also recently had a turn-around on tech for kids. I think our big thing is no personal devices for the little one for a long time. Family computer in a common area. Family cellphone that can be used when she’s not with us. Family tv in the living room. Family iPad that is used for specific tasks.

A huge part of Reddit for me were my small communities. Lemmy just isn’t big enough for the small communities the same way. I miss my bumpers group that were women from all over the world who went through pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting around the same time with me. I miss my teacher groups. I miss my roller coaster groups. Lemmy has replaced the “popular” tab, but not the “home” tab. I also miss the long text posts. I liked relationship advice, aita, tifu, casual conversation. While smaller, it feels more impersonal here. When I left Reddit I deleted everything so I’m not having trouble giving it up, because there’s nothing to go back to. But I miss what I had.

My in-laws are the absolute worst with this. Everyone sits in a circle and opens gifts one at a time. Makes my anxiety spike just thinking about it.

Around February each year we have a SOUPer bowl potluck at work. People pitch in to bring in soups and stews and various breads. It’s fantastic. Someone last year brought a muffin tin from home to try all the different soups

I get gas on Friday mornings, every second or third week. I leave a little earlier and if I’m a little late to work, who cares. And when I’m at the gas station I get myself a little something extra too

I definitely plan to allow as much freedom as developmentally appropriate as she gets older. As it is now I try to make sure she has time to play independently and with friends and I try to not intervene too much when she has minor issues. She has even asked for privacy or that she wants to be by herself and I always respect that within reasonable limits.

I did not enjoy the anxious generation book. There were a few small parts that I liked, but it’s why I started reading other books instead. My school district was all about the anxious generation and wanted us to read it. I did, but wanted a broader perspective.

I believe that we are diagnosing at an appropriate rate (maybe even still under). I do think that we are getting better at recognizing the signs, having resources, and finding support. But I also think there is an increase not only attributed to better diagnosing. I think that the amount of unstructured screen time before kids are able to develop an independent thought is also creating a myriad of neurological disorders. Not saying that kids with ADHD or anything else aren’t more susceptible, because they definitely are, but I think we’ll start to find that it’s also part of the cause and not just a symptom.

I stayed at one once that offered a few granola bars and maybe some fruit. If you didn’t grab them quick enough it was gone and the staff wouldn’t replenish them.