# data[].attributes.body
"...children require exposure to setbacks, failures, shocks, and stumbles in order to develop strength and self-reliance."

Remembering that children need help learning how to fail is important so they build their frustration tolerance and handle disappointment in a constructive way. It's very easy to try to solve your child's problems or try to control the adversity they may face. We have noticed kindergarten students coming to school anxious, afraid to makes mistakes/take chances, unable to appropriately handle adversity and life's challenges.

# data[].attributes.body
"so we left children free to wander through the Wild West of the virtual world, where threats to children abounded."

This statement is meaningful for me as an educator because it highlights the responsibility of guiding children in the digital world, much like in a physical learning environment. It suggests that without proper oversight, digital spaces can expose children to risks, emphasizing the need for digital literacy, ethical engagement, and protective measures in education. It underscores the educator’s role in preparing students to navigate the online world safely and critically.

# data[].attributes.body
"Free play is as essential for developing social skill, like conflict resolution, as it is for developing physical skills. But, play-based childhoods were replaced by phone-based childhoods as children and adolescents moved their social lives and free time onto internet-connected devices."

This really resonated with me as I have spent most of my teaching career teaching Kindergarten students. Over 10 years ago, when I started my teaching career, at least 45 minutes of free play in the classroom a day was built into our classroom schedule. As years have gone on, and the standards that are to be taught, free play is almost impossible to incorporate in an early childhood classroom. In addition to free playing being gone, children's time on devices as increased tremendously. In correlation with that, we are finding students have less and less problem solving skills and more frequent behaviors from frustration (socially and academically). Very interesting how it is all intertwined with one another...

# data[].attributes.body
“While the reward-seeking parts of the brain mature earlier, the frontal cortex—essential for self-control, delay of gratification, and resistance to temptation—is not up to full capacity until the mid-20s, and preteens are at a particularly vulnerable point in development”

I need to put this quote on my desk to remind myself better to give students more grace on the daily.

# data[].attributes.body
When describing real world relationships: "They take place within communities that have a high bar for entry and exit, so people are strongly motivated to invest in relationships and repair rifts when they happen."

When describing virtual world relationships: "They take place within communities that have a low bar for entry and exit, so people can block others or just quit when they are not pleased. Communities tend to be short-lived, and relationships are often disposable.

This quote really resonating with me as the balance for many children and adults is shifting toward virtual world relationships.

# data[].attributes.body
"Unsupervised outdoor play teaches children how to handle risks and challenges of many kinds" (p. 68).

This quote makes me think about my childhood and how much time I spent outside playing and using my imagination. Many of my friends had video game systems and I remember begging my parents to have them as well. They never let me have video games. Instead, I played in trees and pretended they were rocket ships, I created obstacle courses with my cousins, and played in the barns at my grandparents. As I look back, I am so grateful my parents allowed me to be a kid and play without the distraction of having devices. It never fails to surprise me when I ask my students on a Monday morning what they did over the weekend and they tell me that they played on their tablet or played video games. It truly saddens me that most of the children today are not experiencing a play-based childhood, but rather a phone-based childhood.

# data[].attributes.body
"Smartphones can disrupt this essential face-to-face interaction. Pew Research has found that 17% of American parents report they are often distracted by their phone when spending time with their child, with another 52% saying they are sometimes distracted. Although new technologies have long distracted parents from their children, smartphones are uniquely effective at interfering with the bond between parent and child. With notifications constantly pinging and interrupting, some parents attend to their smartphones more than their children, even when they are playing together."

This quote makes me reflect on my own device use, our society, and the example we set as role models for children. If adults cannot go without looking at their phone every time they hear a ping, or cannot stand in line at the supermarket or Dr. office without their phone, how are we teaching our kids to behave any differently?

# data[].attributes.body
I read the word "Antifragile" and I think of my niece. Her kids have all ended up at least once in the emergency room. Nothing life threatening but broken bones and such. They have limited screen time except if it is for school. She removed two kids from school because they were getting migraines from so much time on devices. Phones are for a certain age and if she hears about it being out during school, it's removed. She can call the office if he has a reason to need to contact her children. Her daughter is a firefighter, both of the older two boys went on missions. They do not have anxiety or emotional distress. We need to look at how we are teaching and get away from the devices. These kids need more time working together, communicating and reading. I have brought this up and met with resistance. I'm basically tired from all of the screen time I have to spend working with my students.

# data[].attributes.body
"With so many new and exciting virtual activities, many adolescents (and adults) lost the ability to be fully present with the people around them, which changed social life for everyone, even for the small minority that did not use these platforms" (p. 35).

This really resonated with me. I oftentimes find myself so engrossed with whatever is on my phone, that I forget to be present in the moment. I have to frequently remind myself to put the technology away and engage with those around me. I know there are plenty of other adults who face the same struggles, and it makes me think: if we as adults struggle this much, imagine how much harder it is for teens or children whose brains are still in the developmental stages to disengage with the technology and also be present in the moment...

# data[].attributes.body
"We are forever elsewhere." This resonates with me. I get frustrated listening to teen age drama from my child and want to just scroll on my phone while I half listen to what is being said.

# data[].attributes.body
The following passage resonated with me:  "But evolution didn't just lengthen childhood to make learning possible. It also installed three strong motivations to do things that make learning easy and likely: motivations for free play, attunement, and social learning. In the days of play-based childhood, the norm was that when school let out, children were out playing with each other, unsupervised, in ways that let them satisfy these motives. But in the transition to phone-based childhood, the designers of smartphones, video game systems, social media, and other addictive technologies lured kids into the virtual world, where they no longer got the full benefit of acting on these three motivations." (page 50)

As a teacher, I can't help but see this shift from "play-based childhood" to "phone-based childhood" playing out right in front of me every day. When Haidt talks about those three evolutionary drivers—free play, attunement, and social learning—I immediately think about what's slipping away as kids swap outdoor adventures for screen time.  I've watched this transformation affect how kids solve problems, handle emotions, and work together. The tech itself isn't the villain here—but let's be honest, these apps and games weren't designed with child development as the priority.

This passage had me thinking. How do we find the balance where students get those crucial developmental experiences while still living in our digital world?  How will we create spaces where these evolutionary needs aren’t forgotten, even as we help students navigate the tech-heavy future they are continually heading into?

# data[].attributes.body
"Because pruning and myelination speed up at the start of puberty, changes in children's experiences during those years can have large and lasting effects." (page 96)

The first five years are known to be the most fundamental for brain growth. It was eye opening to learn that if there is a major lifestyle change during puberty, different from what a child experienced in their formative years, a child can be more susceptible to mental disorders. I think about the big lifestyle changes that using technology could cause, like reduced sleep, time outdoors, or face-to-face interactions.

# data[].attributes.body
I appreciated the analogies made to car safety and smoking. For both issues, we realized that the current standards were harming children, and passed laws meant to protect them. Just as children can no longer buy cigarettes from vending machines or ride in a car without a seat belt, there should be regulations in place to protect them online.

As Haidt asserts, however, "Over the course of many decades, we found ways to protect children while mostly allowing adults to do what they want. Then quite suddenly, we created a virtual world where adults could indulge any momentary whim, but children were left nearly defenseless" (p. 14). I wonder from a teacher's perspective how we can defend students from a lot of the pressures of the internet, without completely blocking it for everybody.

# data[].attributes.body
A quote from the introduction that stuck with me.."but many of us have become more frazzled, scattered, and exhausted by our new technologies and their incessant interruptions and distractions." This quote stuck with me because often I find myself setting a weekly goal of "less frustration". In what ways I can achieve more out of my day. Limiting the distractions, including social media usage.

# data[].attributes.body
Page 97

“Safetyism” is an experience blocker. This prevents children from getting the quantity and variety of real world experiences and challenges they need. Safetyism results in a  lack of  independence, resilience, and ability to handle adversity. The negative consequences contribute to anxiety, decreased problem-solving skills, and a lack of preparedness for real-world challenges.

# data[].attributes.body
Page 15 -

“two big mistakes we’ve made: overprotecting children in the real world (where they need to learn from vast amounts of direct experience) and under protecting them online (where they are particularly vulnerable during puberty).”

# data[].attributes.body
"a healthy human childhood with a lot of autonomy and unsupervised play in the real world sets children's brains to operate mostly in "discover mode", with a well developed attachment system and an ability to handle the risks of daily life".

"Play is the work of childhood".

# data[].attributes.body
Hi everyone,

In addition to the 4 in-person meetings, we will also have posts to complete each week. Below is the first task to be completed by Wednesday, 3/19:

Post #1: Please share a quote from Part 1 or 2 that was meaningful to you through your lens as an educator. Then comment on at least three other quotes posted by your colleagues.

# data[].attributes.body
I’m very glad to be reading this book in my role at school and as a parent of the exact age group studied the most as the Anxious Generation. I hope there are suggestions to help our students and my own daughter. What do other people hope to get out of reading this book?

# data[].attributes.body
Create posts and share with the team..