I was at a colleague’s house, watching a child and their teenage sibling grow cranky after using electronics.
I thought, Why is this parent wondering how to get their kids off electronics more often?
Then another question hit me. If most kids I know seem negatively affected by screen time, there must be a deeper explanation beyond the obvious.
Kids were never meant to have their faces buried in screens. For thousands of years, they were meant to be outside, playing and using their bodies. Those natural rhythms kept them less cranky, more engaged, and more motivated.
As I dug into the research, it all tied back to one thing I talk about often. The nervous system.
Cell phones dysregulate the nervous system. They are genuinely harmful for young people’s developing brains and bodies.
The nervous system controls much of our cognitive function and emotional life. When the autonomic nervous system is disrupted by screens, electronics, abuse, or trauma, it enters an unhealthy state. When kids live in this state, they struggle. They become troubled, turn to drugs or alcohol, and fail to thrive.
Repairing the autonomic nervous system can help teenagers recover and find success. This restoration often happens through therapy, structured treatment, exercise, and healthy habits.
And this is where parenting becomes essential.
Parents need to understand how to leverage the nervous system to guide their teenagers, prevent issues before they begin, and raise productive young adults.
It is far more effective to build strong nervous systems early than to repair damaged ones later.
Yet many modern parents are not doing this. Some treat parenting like an accidental experience. I have heard parents describe their approach as crossing their fingers and hoping for the best, because you cannot control everything.
This is a dangerous strategy. Many parents in my practice who relied on that approach ended up with children who fell into drugs, trouble, and serious irresponsibility.
Parenting requires honesty about what is not working for the child. It requires learning, from informed sources, why it is not working. It requires implementing a proven strategy to fix the problem and build a capable and resilient adult.
Because parenting is not about raising children.
It is about raising adults. Let’s raise strong young adults who avoid drugs, avoid crime, and avoid destructive irresponsibility.
It is completely unnecessary for a teenager’s nervous system to be damaged by electronics. Parents need to stop doing this to their teenagers, and it is one hundred percent within your control to prevent it.
Here is why:
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