This category includes resources from leading medical, psychiatric, and child-development institutions that provide foundational guidelines and recommendations for managing media use.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): A primary source for much of the guidance, with resources on general media use, specific guidelines for toddlers, and content for parents on HealthyChildren.org.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP): Offers "Facts for Families" guides on screen time and its effects.
Mayo Clinic: Provides practical guides for parents on how to manage their child's screen time.
Sesame Workshop: Offers a guide for parents and caregivers on understanding digital well-being.
Digital Wellness Lab: Provides frameworks like "The 5 M's of Digital Wellness" to help families navigate technology.
Canadian Paediatric Society: (via caringforkids.cps.ca) Offers advice for parents of school-aged children and teens.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA): Provides a report on best practices and resources for parents.
American Counseling Association: Features articles on how to address problematic internet use with youth.
These resources offer actionable steps and templates for families to proactively create rules and expectations around technology use.
HealthyChildren.org (from the AAP): Provides a tool and guide for creating a "Family Media Plan."
Center for Online Safety: Offers guides on introducing "Family Tech Agreements" or contracts.
University at Buffalo (ed.buffalo.edu): Provides a sample "Technology Use Contract" template.
UTMB Health: Reinforces the value of creating media plans, especially for unstructured times like summer.
Panda Security: Offers printable media agreement templates.
This category features "how-to" guides and tools provided directly by technology companies and third-party safety organizations to help caregivers manage specific devices and platforms.
Google & YouTube: Provide "Family Link" for parental supervision, settings for YouTube Kids, and new "supervised experiences" for tweens and teens on YouTube.
Apple: Offers built-in "Screen Time" tools for iPhones and iPads, along with guides on how to use parental controls to manage content and purchases.
Roblox: Provides a support hub with guides on parental controls, managing screen time, and setting monthly spending limits.
Nintendo: (via Nintendo Support & ESRB) Details how to use the "Nintendo Switch Parental Controls" app.
PlayStation (Sony): (via PlayStation Support, ESRB & YouTube) Offers guides on setting parental controls, safety features, and spending limits for PS5.
TikTok: Features a "Family Pairing" tool to link a parent's account to their child's, along with general safety guides.
Internet Matters: A non-profit organization that provides comprehensive, step-by-step guides for parental controls on a wide range of platforms, including Roblox, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Apple devices.
ConnectSafely: A non-profit that offers parent guides for specific platforms like TikTok and Roblox.
Protect Young Eyes: Provides detailed guides on setting up parental controls for devices like the iPhone.
These resources are from research and medical institutions that explore the scientific impact of digital media on children's brains, cognitive development, and mental health.
Harvard Medical School: Publishes articles on the relationship between screen time and the developing brain.
AAP Publications: (via Pediatrics) Features research on digital screen media and cognitive development.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) & PubMed Central (PMC): Host research articles on topics like digital media's effect on developing brains and challenges parents faced during COVID-19.
New York-Presbyterian: (via Health Matters) Explains how social media use affects adolescent brain development.
This group of resources addresses the unique challenges of managing screen time in different family structures, particularly for single parents and co-parents who may have different rules.
Intracove & Splitopia: Offer articles with strategies specifically for single parents managing screen time.
Protect Young Eyes, Front Range Family Law, Huson Law Firm, Dcomply, and Lawrence Law: Provide guides and blog posts on navigating co-parenting in the digital age and establishing shared rules.
Screenagers Movie (Blog): Discusses how to work through differences in co-parenting tech time.
Various Counseling & Therapy Blogs: Offer insights into how screen time can impact adult relationships and family dynamics.
This category is especially relevant for teachers and administrators, focusing on how technology is used in schools and how to teach children to be responsible digital citizens.
Google: Promotes its "Be Internet Awesome" program, a curriculum designed to teach kids online safety and digital citizenship.
Minnetonka Public Schools & Anthony Wayne Schools: Examples of school districts providing "Digital Health & Wellness" and "Digital Citizenship" guides for their families.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Addresses the specific topic of screen time in schools.
ERIC, NIH, & Walden University: Provide research and articles on the role of technology in the classroom, such as for language learning and student motivation.
Reddit (r/Parenting & r/RobloxHelp): Serve as examples of community-based, peer-to-peer support where caregivers ask questions and share strategies.