Jocelyn Brewer | Digital Wellbeing & Cyberpsychology Expert
What is one piece of advice you’d share with expecting parents of their first child?
I make a choice not to share too much advice with expectant parents unless they really explicitly ask for it! I got a lot of unsolicited advice when I was pregnant that often served as more therapeutic for the advice-giver than for me as the recipient. I ended up creating a survey for friends to complete on the areas of new parenthood I needed ideas on and I got thousands of words of advice that I worked into a blog that summarised the ideas into key tips!
How can parents manage screentime of toddlers and preschoolers?
Screentime is a hugely emotive and salient topic that many parents struggle to understand, not having grown up in such a tech-saturated world. There are so many issues to be aware of around the content that little minds consume, how that content is designed, and the way that tech use displaces other activities and can interrupt things like language acquisition. We need to be really wary of allowing little one’s access to devices without carefully curating and supporting what they consume. I use the analogy with food in my Digital Nutrition framework – toddlers and preschoolers need to be weaned slowly into online activities and supported with their adoption of technology so that brain development is not negatively impacted. I have a course that aims to empower parents to understand the key factors that need consideration when introducing screens in early childhood, explore it here
Recommend a book, article or podcast in the child development space for families to read or listen to.
I am a bit obsessed with Dr Becky Kennedy’s straight-talking and practical advice at Good Inside. Her Instagram feed alone is a treasure trove. I also really love the work of The Reconnected to help align to modern parenting intuitively.
What is your go-to parenting hack?
Read the books with a grain of salt, take what works for you and you/your family’s values and use ideas creatively to design your own systems, routines and rituals. No one has ever parented your kids before, so advice only goes so far. Focus on the general principles and ideas, but don’t get stuck on how to execute the plan. Small and steady steps consistently applied trumps reactive attempts that never stick!
Bio
Jocelyn Brewer is a Sydney-based psychologist, with expertise in cyberpsychology, digital well-being and mental health. Through her work with individuals and organizations, she answers the question: How do we stay human in a digital age? In 2013, Jocelyn founded Digital NutritionTM, a positive and practical framework for addressing digital well-being, and helping humans of all ages to conquer their love-hate relationship with technology.
A highly sought-after speaker, educator, media commentator and expert, Jocelyn is adept at discussing the impact of technology, and empowering audiences on how to improve their digital well-being. With a warm, humorous and engaging presentation style, Jocelyn is just as comfortable discussing toddlers and screen use with parents, as she is providing support to ‘screenagers’, social media influencers, and organizations looking for pragmatic solutions to their digital challenges.
Find Jocelyn
Website: www.jocelynbrewer.com
Instagram: @digital_nutrition
LinkedIn: jocelynbrewer
Twitter: jocelynbrewer