Spoiled Right: Delaying Screens and Giving Children What They Really Need

I have been buying this book for all the new parents I know. I love how the author first persuasively presents the research showing the dangers of too much screen time for kids, and then presents a truly manageable solution. I hope every parent reads this book.

This book shows you the developmental benefits of having a screen free childhood- but all of those interested in the topic already sort of knew the data. What makes this book wonderful is that it focuses on habits to make our kids’ childhood more meaningful. It shares ideas on how to prioritize high quality experiences for them. To be quite honest, it helps not only with children, but with your significant other and family members as they question why are you so “strict” (I am not!) with screen time. This book works wonders with them as well because it allows you to share that is not about saying “no” to screen time, is about what meaningful thing you can do to create meaningful memories. In short, Dr. Owenz not only gives you the research but gives you many examples of how to focus on activities that will enrich our kid’s childhood instead of simply turning into screens.

Who edited this?? There are multiple instances of incorrect homophones (e.g. “dear” when the author clearly meant “deer”) and other inexcusable errors such as extraneous spaces, missing words, and adverbs that should be adjectives. Extremely irritating and mars the experience of reading what is otherwise a sensible and badly-needed book.

This book is solid!!! I’m halfway through the book and it’s an eye-opener! A lot of scientific evidence in this book. Easy to understand and a lot of helpful tips on what to do instead of screens and explanations on why we should do it. The author does a great job of addressing other threats to children’s S.P.O.I.L. as well. She does not just mention screen time as the main problem but other things that has corrupted our culture as well (i.e. extreme importance on academics, a culture of busyness in each family, short maternity leave, etc.)I have recommended this to people. When they ask me why we’ve decided to raise our daughter with no screens, I send them this book because it has so much science to it, it’s hard to deny the toxicity of the excessive use of screens in children.

I thought this was a great book. There are plenty of books out there that talk about the impact of screens on kids, but few give concrete examples of what to do instead of turning on the TV. I also thought the book was well researched and she provided a lot of current research (within the last 10-15 years) of various studies that bolster her point.Overall, the book was easy to read and follow. She kept her audience’s attention by providing a nice balance of research/data with her own experiences as a child and mother. Like I mentioned, the examples she gave of activities to replace screen time were also beneficial and broad enough to be applicable to kids throughout a wide age range.

Highly recommend reading this book even if you want to incorporate screen time into your parenting because the author has a very non-judgmental, helpful approach in which she focuses on the most beneficial ways to spend time with your child (all research based, but also interwoven with personal anecdotes and recommendations that I found very helpful)

Dr Owenz is spot on and timely offering positive and joyful solutions. As parents (we are in the medical field and scientists) who raise our children screen free, we fully concur. Parenting is EASIER without the electronic devices. We have 4 children and they stay occupied with real paper books and puzzles and non-digital joyful fun. We have power struggles like any family, but at least it's not over something that is physiologically addictive as the electronic devices and online platforms are.

I was worried when I ordered this book that it would be negative and just nay saying screen time. This book goes into detail of important activities for children that take place of screen time. It also discusses strategies for implementing screen time. Highly recommend this book.