The Tech Solution

Creating Healthy Habits for Kids Growing Up in a Digital World

By: Dr. Shimi Kang

Narrated by: Nicole Oliver

A Harvard-trained psychiatrist and mom of three gives parents and educators the tech habits children need to achieve their full potential - and a six-step plan to put them into action.

You may have picked up on some warning signs: The more your nine-year-old son plays video games, the more distracted and irritable he becomes. Or maybe comparing her life to others on social media is leaving your teenaged daughter feeling down. Then there are the questions that are always looming: Should I limit screen time? Should I give my 11-year-old an iPhone?

The Tech Solution is a to-the-point resource for parents and educators who want the best approach for raising kids in our digital world. It outlines all you need to know about the short-term and potential long-term consequences of tech use. Dr. Kang simplifies cutting-edge neuroscience to reveal a new understanding around how we metabolize experiences with technology that will lay the foundation for lasting success. On top of that, she offers practical advice for tackling specific concerns in the classroom or at home, whether it's possible tech addiction, anxiety, cyberbullying, or loneliness. With her six-week, six-step plan for rebalancing your family's tech diet, Dr. Kang will help your child build healthy habits and make smart choices that will maximize the benefits of tech and minimize its risks.

Use The Tech Solution to help your child avoid the pitfalls of today's digital world and to offer them guidance that will boost their brains and bodies, create meaningful connections, explore creative pursuits, and foster a sense of contribution and empowerment for many years to come.

©2020 Shimi Kang (P)2020 Penguin Random House Canada

Critic reviews

“New research now shows that screen time is correlated with changes in the brain and that children and young teens are particularly vulnerable. Near epidemic levels of teenage and young adult suicides, lack of motivation, and social isolation are alarming. The Tech Solution pulls no punches, but fortunately offers all of us hope and practical, straightforward guidelines for how to protect our most important resource: the next generations’ brains.” (Daniel Levitin, PhD, New York Times best-selling author of Successful Aging)

“If you are a parent wondering about how to approach the use of technology with your children, this thoughtful guide provides science-backed discussions of how the brain responds to the complex ways digital devices compel us to use them. With this knowledge, Dr. Kang provides practical suggestions to steer the use of these devices in helpful ways that can improve your child's development and well-being - and your important relationship with each other as a family.” (Daniel J. Siegel, MD, New York Times best-selling coauthor of The Whole-Brain Child, Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Medicine, and Executive Director, Mindsight Institute)

“As we learn more about the powerful impact of new technologies on the health and well-being of kids, it has never been more important for parents to teach responsible ways to use these tools. Dr. Kang offers a practical blueprint for achieving this urgent goal.” (Cal Newport, New York Times best-selling author of Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World)

The best guide to follow before and after problems

This is the first time I felt the need to write a review for a book. Due to the increasing use of digital technology during the pandemic period, “Technical Solution 'Creating Healthy Habits for Children Growing in the Digital World'" has become a very important book for me and my pre-adolescent child. Learning about the effects of hormones and their power in our habits had a very positive impact on us. Dr. Shimi Kang's methods/solutions can be applied before and after problems arise are really life changing.

Chapters:
Opening Credits00:21
Dedication00:16
Epigraph00:07
Introduction13:56
1. Disruption: How Technology Is Affecting Your Child’s Brain and Behavior26:47
2. Pathways: The Power of Habits in Helping Your Child Reach Their Full Potential31:35
Solutions16:10
3. Hooked: Dopamine and How to Manage Technology’s Addictive Power55:41
Solutions17:47
4. Stressed: Cortisol and Moving Your Child from Survival Mode to Growth Mode44:32
Solutions11:47
5. Wired for Health: Endorphins and Finding Balance in an Unbalanced World53:53
Solutions15:35
6. Wired to Connect: Oxytocin and How Tech Can Help Kids Build Community as Never Before46:21
Solutions20:32
7. Wired to Create: Serotonin and How to Help Your Child Own Their Future34:56
Solutions25:28
8. Intuition: Guiding Your Family to a Healthy Tech Diet24:27
The Tech Solution: A Six-Week, Six-Step Plan45:48
9. A Whole New World: The Next Step in Human Evolution24:49
Refrigerator Sheet04:46
End Credits00:46