Screens in Education: Balancing Necessity and Well-Being

The PedsDocTalk Podcast: Child Health, Development & Parenting—From a Pediatrician Mom

Dr. Mona Amin

Medicine, Kids & Family, Health & Fitness, Parenting

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Conflicted about your child using screens in school? From iPads in kindergarten or digital homework apps in middle school we’ll cover how to balance the reality of tech with what your child truly needs developmentally. I’m joined by Emily Cherkin, M.Ed., former teacher, author, and “The Screen Time Consultant,” who’s leading the charge on tech-intentional parenting and education. Together, we unpack how screens in schools have gone from occasional tools to everyday defaults and why that shift might be hurting our kids more than helping them. We talk about: How the pandemic accelerated a trend that was already in motion: more tech, younger kids, fewer real-life skills What we’re giving up when screen-based learning replaces play, paper, and people The difference between being anti-tech and tech intentional and how to advocate for your child without feeling adversarial To learn your rights about opting out check out https://edtech.law/ To connect with Emily Cherkin follow her on Instagram @thescreentimeconsultant, check out all her resources including her newsletter at https://thescreentimeconsultant.com/. Emily also offers free monthly webinars: https://thescreentimeconsultant.com/events We’d like to know who is listening! Please fill out our Listener Survey to help us improve the show and learn about you! 00:00 – From No Phones to Full Screens: A Teacher’s Wake-Up Call 01:09 – When iPads Replaced Pencils in Kindergarten 03:13 – Meet Emily: Educator, Parent, Screen Time Consultant 06:28 – Skills Before Screens: Why Development Comes First 07:52 – Big Tech in a Sweater Vest? Yep, That’s EdTech 09:15 – Kids Know How to Copy-Paste, But Not Type 10:34 – Safety & Inappropriate Access in Schools 11:06 – Pre-Screen Childhoods vs. Today’s Reality 12:08 – Is All This Tech Really Necessary in Schools? 14:09 – If It’s So Great, Why Don’t Tech Execs Use It? 15:15 – Learning Takes Struggle, Not Just Speed 17:15 – Libraries, Labs, and What We’ve Lost 18:29 – Kids’ Data for Sale? Yes, Even in School Apps 19:15 – Turning Down Big Tech as a Pediatrician 21:13 – Less is More, Later is Better 23:58 – Bring Back the Computer Lab 26:25 – Opting Out: The Power of One (Fish) 29:18 – Parenting with Intention in a Screen World 33:02 – Why Asking for Paper is “Revolutionary” Now 35:01 – Home Habits that Protect Kids 38:24 – Final Takeaway: You’re Not Alone Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I realized that we went from, you know, no kids having phones to 95% having smartphones in about a decade.
0:06.3	And at the same time, I also, as a teacher, was being increasingly asked to put assignments
0:11.3	online, post the grades, you know, communicate via email.
0:15.7	And I hated it as a teacher because what it did was it drove my students to a computer instead
0:24.0	of coming to talk to me.
0:25.7	I see that we talk a lot about screen time and we think about phones and iPads and computers
0:29.7	and social media, but there's the second elephant in the room, which is the use of technology
0:34.2	for schools or in the name of education.
0:36.5	And as a teacher, I had a lot of concerns.
0:38.6	And then I became a parent.
0:46.5	Hello, it's Dr. Mona, your favorite online pediatrician and host of the Pete's Doc Talk
0:51.0	podcast. First off, I just want to say that we hit number two on the parenting
0:55.6	podcast in the United States last week. Y'all, number two, you know how that happens? Traffic,
1:01.7	buzz, people listening and downloading. So please subscribe and download and engage on posts on
1:07.8	social media to share the word. It means so much to getting this incredible
1:12.1	info out there and the amazing conversations I have with the most awesome guests. Yes, I'm
1:16.8	partial, but they are awesome. So here's a story for you. We were touring a school for my son.
1:22.0	He's starting kindergarten and everything looked great until the tour guide casually mentioned
1:26.8	that every kid gets their own iPad
1:29.0	for lessons. And I froze. And then I asked why. The response, well, it's just the reality of the
1:35.2	world now that kids will be on computers. Look, I get that tech is part of our lives. I use it. I run a
1:41.0	business online. My kids watch cartoons. And Ryan, my kindergartner, has an iPad
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Mona Amin, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dr. Mona Amin and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.