Screen Kids

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A book review of Screen Kids: 5 Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane

A book review of Screen Kids: 5 Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane

Stars: *****

Northfield Publishing (2020)
Christian Living/Relationships
208 pages

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Summary: In this digital age, children spend more time interacting with screens and less time playing outside, reading a book, or interacting with family. Though technology has its benefits, it also has its harms.

In Screen Kids Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane will empower you with the tools you need to make positive changes. Through stories, science, and wisdom, you’ll discover how to take back your home from an overdependence on screens. Plus, you’ll learn to teach the five A+ skills that every child needs to master: affection, appreciation, anger management, apology, and attention. Learn how to:

  • Protect and nurture your child’s growing brain
  • Establish simple boundaries that make a huge difference
  • Recognize the warning signs of gaming too much
  • Raise a child who won’t gauge success through social media
  • Teach your child to be safe online

This newly revised edition features the latest research and interactive assessments, so you can best confront the issues technology create in your home. Now is the time to equip your child with a healthy relationship with screens and an even healthier relationship with others.

Screen Kids

The back of this book says: “Has Technology Taken Over Your Home?” and the answer for me is YES! I needed this book. I love books by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane made a great match for him in this book.

First the book talks about how screen time affects the brain, relationships, safety, emotional health and how it related to single parenting especially.

The book doesn’t make you feel bad though. Many books about screen use make you feel bad when they go over why too much is not good. I didn’t feel like that here. I think it was because they give many examples of real life people and their real life screen issues.

The second section is about the five A social skills: affection, appreciation, anger management, apology and attention. These are skills that every kid needs The book talks about how too much screen time can affect these and how to combat this.

There is a Top 10 Questions and Answers section which helps cover some thoughts you might have and at the end there is a quiz to see if your child has too much screen time although I tend to think that most parents know their child has too much screen time. This book helps with how to ease them out of it.

“When your child moves out of your home for college or a career, you’re not going to say, “I wish I could go back in time and give my child more video game hours” or “I wish I would have given my child a phone and social media sooner.” However we have heard from many parents who have wished the opposite.

Screen Kids

“Everybody now has a tablet or an iPhone or a smart device… That’s how my career exploded.”

Kimberly Young, Founder, Center for Internet Addiction (from Screen Kids book)

This was an AMAZING book and there is even a Grandparents edition which I think is cool. Highly Recommended.

Buy Screen Kids at Amazon.com and help support the blog.

Buy Screen Kids for Grandparents at Amazon.com and help support the blog.

Find Screen Kids at Goodreads.

About Kathleen

I've been a nonfiction lover for as long as I can remember. I love children's nonfiction as well and love to share my knowledge and the books I gained them from, with the world. I wish more people would give nonfiction a chance.