What age should my kid be on social media?

Posted on: 03/16/18 10:21 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s one of the biggest questions I hear from parents at my workshops each month. “What age should I let my kids have a smartphone?” or “What age should I allow them to get SnapChat, Insta and all the other social media apps they want?”

We’ve posted some great resources on TheSource4Parents.com recently that will help answer that question, including a brand new article posted just this week titled, Parenting Middle Schoolers: More Than Just Surviving This Transitional Phase. But parents of high school students shouldn’t ignore that article, because in the early part of the article where I talk about “Delaying Social Media” I not only provide some brand new research about the undeniable connection from social media to the rise of depression in America, but I also provide some helpful questions you can ask your kids to engage them in meaningful conversation about this subject Continue reading “What age should my kid be on social media?”

7 Facts Undercover Adults Discovered about Teenagers Today

Posted on: 03/5/18 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I love it when research discovers something we’ve been telling parents for years. And for the last few weeks A& E show Undercover High has been revealing an eye-opening peek to many parents about the reality of what’s truly going on in the lives of the high school just down the street from you (and one of these “uncover adults” is a youth pastor).

The show unveiled quite a few realities about teen culture- seven, in fact.

1. The biggest surprise for these undercover adults was how much social media and smartphones had changed high school culture completely… and for some of these young adults, high school was only 5 years ago Continue reading “7 Facts Undercover Adults Discovered about Teenagers Today”

Gunning Your Kids Down

Posted on: 02/26/18 6:48 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Today’s young people might be a little more familiar than you think with solving their problems with a gun… because they literally hear it all the time.

“Got an AK on my lap”

“Call up on an Uzi”

I find it intriguing that while the world is debating the gun issue, the majority of the musical “artists” in the top 10 right now have songs about revenge, “popping” people, or gunning you down… and I kid you not… some will even tell you what assault rifle and which high capacity clip they prefer Continue reading “Gunning Your Kids Down”

Over 4 hours a day

Posted on: 12/19/17 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

America loves their music… which is probably why the average person over 13-years-old now listens to over 4 hours of music per day. That’s an average of 47 minutes a day more than they did last year alone.

The question is… what kind of music?

Every December we wrap up the year with one final Youth Culture Window article unveiling every No. 1 song of the year. This year there were 12 songs that hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100… and half of them were rap/hip-hop.

Any guess as to what the common theme was this year?

Take a peek in our newest Youth Culture Window article, The Biggest Hits of 2017.

Answering top questions from today’s parents PART III

Posted on: 11/16/17 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

In PART I and PART II of this series we already tackled some of the big questions today’s parents are asking…

How do I regulate screen time with a high functioning autistic kid?

When your kids push you away and go silent, how do you reconnect?

Is there a way to receive your kids’ texts directly on your device?

These are just a few of the countless questions I just received from parents… and for three days I’ve been answering them in this blog. Each day I’m narrowing it down to the top 10.

Here are the final 10 answers to the last 10 questions… Continue reading “Answering top questions from today’s parents PART III”

Answering top questions from today’s parents PART II

Posted on: 11/15/17 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Yesterday we already tackled some of the big ones…

What age do you recommend allowing children on social media?

Is there a way to filter the stories on SnapChat?

How do you prevent sexting?

These are just a few of the countless questions I just received from parents… and for three days I’m going to answer all of them in this blog. Each day I’m going to narrow it down to the top 10. (See yesterday’s 10 answers HERE.)

Here are today’s 10 answers to 10 questions… Continue reading “Answering top questions from today’s parents PART II”

Answering top questions from today’s parents PART I

Posted on: 11/14/17 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

The questions began rolling in…

What age do you recommend giving our kids phones?

What is the easiest way to monitor a child’s online safety?

What are the dangers of the app Musical.ly?

These are just a few of the countless questions I just received from parents… and in the next three days I’m going to answer all of them in this blog. Each day I’m going to narrow it down to the top 10 Continue reading “Answering top questions from today’s parents PART I”

Guns, Drama, and Poor Conflict Resolution Skills

Posted on: 11/7/17 6:56 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s always interesting when people search for the “why” behind shootings and acts of violence (much like the why behind spikes in anxiety and depression). People are always looking for someone to blame.

It’s those violent video games.

It’s Quentin Tarantino movies!

It’s the second amendment.

If only it were that simple. I think most experts would agree it’s often an amalgamation of these elements. With shootings, the typical profile is a white male, 25 to 45, military background, tumultuous relationship with his mother… but not always Continue reading “Guns, Drama, and Poor Conflict Resolution Skills”

3 Reasons Why Today’s Teens are Depressed More Than Ever Before

Posted on: 10/31/17 11:33 AM | by Jonathan McKee

If you’ve picked up a newspaper in the last few months, you’ve probably noticed article upon article about the rise of teen anxiety, depression and suicide. It was just last year that suicide moved up to the second-leading cause of death among US teens.

The question everyone is wondering is why?

Experts are speculating, and most of their theories have one “device” in common: the smartphone.

I can’t say I disagree. In fact, I see 3 ingredients catalyzing this unprecedented increase in teen anxiety and depression Continue reading “3 Reasons Why Today’s Teens are Depressed More Than Ever Before”

Engaging Young People with Stranger Things

Posted on: 10/24/17 6:29 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Young people love them some Netflix… and this week they’re especially buzzing about Stranger Things, because Season 2 will be premiering this Friday… and everybody’s talking about it!

That means literally millions of people won’t be going outdoors this weekend, because they will be at home binge-watching the entire season in one sitting! That also means that many are re-binging on Season One again this week to prep for the big premiere.

Did you know that we have free discussion starters for EVERY episode of Stranger Things on our Continue reading “Engaging Young People with Stranger Things”