Articles
Short answers to the questions parents ask most, drawn from the book’s sources.
What is “virtual autism”?
A phrase, not a diagnosis: what parents mean by it, what the research shows, and what to do if you are worried.
ReadIs “virtual autism” real?
The honest answer has two parts: what isn’t real, and what is.
ReadMy toddler isn’t talking. Could screen time be the reason?
Hearing, language delay, autism and screens: the questions to ask, and what to do this week.
ReadWhere did the phrase “virtual autism” come from?
A campaign in Romania, an alarm in France and a 2019 hypothesis paper: how a phrase that is not a diagnosis spread around the world, and why autism researchers urge caution.
ReadHow to turn off the TV with a toddler (without a battle)
Seven practical steps for the first loud week, from families and the research.
Read“Virtual autism” and autism: how they differ
One is a phrase parents search for; the other is a lifelong difference that a clinician diagnoses. What each one is, why a toddler’s signs can look alike, and why the evaluation matters.
ReadToddler not answering to name or looking up
Hearing, language delay, autism and screens can all look alike at this age. What to do this week: the hearing test first, the screening tests by name, and a written request for an evaluation.
ReadOlder children and screens: is it too late?
The first thousand days matter most, but an older child’s brain is still building. What changes at five, seven or ten, and what a family can still do.
ReadScreen time by age: what the guidelines say
What the World Health Organization, the American pediatricians and newer national advice say from birth to school age, in one place, and what to do with the numbers.
ReadScreen-free activities by age, babies to 12
Easy screen-free activities sorted by age, from newborns to twelve-year-olds, each with a talk tip, and what the research says about play, the outdoors and the kitchen.
ReadWhat to do instead of screens: 25 ideas
Twenty-five easy things to do with a toddler instead of a screen, sorted by the moments screens usually fill: cooking, calls, errands, restless hours and bedtime.
ReadHow to make a family media plan
A step-by-step family media plan: where screens live, when they are off, how much, and how the adults keep it too. With the guidelines for each age and a sample plan.
ReadReading on paper vs screens: the research
Large reviews found that readers understand text better on paper, and toddlers and parents talk more over a printed book. What it means at home, and what to ask a school.
ReadTalk-along reading with babies and toddlers
How to read with a baby or toddler so she gets more turns: pause, point, add a word, follow her lead. What the reading trials found, and tips by age.
ReadScreen time and toddler talk: the studies
What whole-day recordings and large studies found about screens and how toddlers talk, what they found about autism, what they cannot prove, and easy ways to add talk.
ReadHow to turn off screens with less protest
Why switching off a screen is so hard for children, what the research says about screens and calming, and ten calm steps for the moment it goes off, from toddlers to twelve.
Read“Virtual autism” after the screens go off
Small reports describe toddlers changing after heavy screen use stopped. What they found, why none of them can say why, what the trials do show, and why the evaluation still matters.
ReadDo video calls count as screen time?
Video calls with grandparents are the one screen many guidelines make an exception for. Why a live call is different from a recording, and how to make the call a real conversation.
ReadBackground TV and toddler talk
A television nobody is watching still changes the room. What laboratory studies and whole-day recordings found about background TV, play and talk, and simple ways to turn it off.
ReadDoes my phone affect my baby?
What babies do when a parent’s face turns to a phone, what one short call cost toddlers in a word-learning experiment, and the few minutes of the day worth protecting.
ReadScreen-free brain breaks for the classroom
Thirty brain breaks of one to three minutes for preschool to fifth grade, with no video, no device and no preparation, and a seated version of each.
ReadScreens and toddler sleep: what to do
Screens can take a toddler’s sleep through time, through stirring her up and, in adult studies, through light. What the studies found, what they cannot prove, and a bedtime that works.
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