- From the NPN Weekly: Does school screen time actually help, and what’s the deal with teens?
Parenting IRL
“Does anyone know of an elementary school where parents have successfully reduced students’ exposure to screens and ed tech? I’ve been surprised by how much time my kids and my friends’ kids are on Chromebooks at school. For the most part, it doesn’t seem like the hardware and software they’re using adds any value or efficiency. Would love to hear stories where ed tech has been proven — in an unbiased way — to improve student and teacher outcomes, or the converse.”
Screen time at school is one of those issues that sounds like it should have a clear answer by now — and yet here we are, still debating it. One NPN parent is noticing a lot of Chromebook time for her kids and not seeing much to show for it. So here’s the question: has anyone actually pushed back successfully? And is there solid evidence either way on whether this stuff works?
It’s a question worth taking seriously — ed tech has been adopted fast and evaluated slowly, and parents are often the last to get a straight answer. We’d love to hear from anyone who’s navigated this issue.
Let us know your thoughts on the Forum!
But seriously...
Why Your Teen Is Like This (Hint: It’s Their Brain)
Teenagers are, by definition, chaotic. But here’s some science that might make you a little more patient with yours.
It turns out the teen brain is in the middle of a massive, active construction project — not just trimming away old connections, but building dense new clusters of synapses in specific areas, according to one study.
These clusters emerge only during adolescence and appear to be the foundation for higher-level thinking, including planning, reasoning, and decision-making.
In other words, the chaos isn’t a bug — it’s a feature. Your teen’s brain is being rewired for complexity in real time, and that process is messy, nonlinear… and absolutely essential.
The takeaway: the teenage years are a critical window.
Give them real decisions to make. Let them problem-solve. Let them fail a little. The circuits being built right now are the ones they’ll use for the rest of their lives.
TIP: Subscribe to NPN Weekly to get more parenting news, trends, and tips straight to your inbox!