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How Tech Can (and Can’t) Support You As A Parent – with Dr. Susan Walker
Manage episode 479011318 series 3627945
In this episode of Parent Tech, I talk with Dr. Susan Walker, Professor Emeritus of Family and Social Science at the University of Minnesota and the author of a textbook on technology and the family. We cover the historical context of parenting and how today's technology fits into a much longer story.
We explore how parenting is different today and the ways parents use technology. Dr. Walker offers a grounded, judgment-free perspective: parenting has always been about your values, your goals, and the tools you choose to use to support them.
Whether you're figuring out screen time, exploring tracking apps, or just trying to feel a little more confident—this conversation will remind you that you’re not alone, and there are methods to navigate through it.
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Dr. Walker’s textbook:
Chapters
1. Introduction: Dr. Susan Walker and the history of parenting (00:00:00)
2. Has parenting really changed? (Spoiler: yes, but it’s not new) (00:01:38)
3. From agriculture to industrialization to tech: the evolving role of children (00:04:45)
4. How parenting goals have shifted (and why that’s important) (00:09:10)
5. “Technology is a tool”—what we can learn from the past (00:12:34)
6. The power of values-based parenting (00:15:40)
7. Parenting information used to come from neighbors. Now it comes from Reddit and TikTok (00:19:22)
8. “The best source of parenting advice is your child” (00:22:50)
9. Tracking apps, location sharing, and the illusion of control (00:27:35)
10. Confidence and parenting from the inside out (00:32:00)
11. “Be there”: two words that define parenting (00:35:50)
12. Wrapping up: tech won’t save us, but it can support us (00:38:14)
2 episodes
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