Happy New Year!  I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions. Maybe I feel like I’m just setting myself up for failure.  But with a clean slate at the New Year, it’s an ideal time for me to consider some healthier goals.  Maybe more cardio. (The ‘maybe’ gives me leeway.) Maybe healthier eating. (Maybe not.) But one of my goals in 2019 is definitely to seek healthier tech habits for myself and our family. Technology and smart devices bring us many wonderful benefits, yet all of these screens bring specific challenges to our family too.

This past year, I was introduced to and have had the honor of getting involved with an organization called START – Stand Together and Rethink Technology. What I love about START is that its mission completely acknowledges that technology is not a bad thing! Yet, there are also unintended consequences that we are beginning to feel within our very own homes and communities.

START has come alongside our family to help us realize and integrate a healthier lifestyle around tech use and screens in our home.  We definitely don’t have it all figured out; we continue to just try to do our best day-to-day with our family’s technology norms and expectations.

Since each family has its own needs, values, and priorities, I certainly won’t try to tell you how tech can best be integrated in your home.  But, I am excited to share with you about START. Check it out at www.westartnow.org. Even for those of you who don’t live in Kansas City, the new blog can be a great resource. It launched this January and will have a different theme each month.  And the START Facebook page will share tips and articles in line with the month’s theme.

You can read a post I wrote about how START has impacted our family on the blog here: START Three-Part Parent Program.

And you can read about this month’s theme here: Device Bedtimes.

With the ever-changing landscape of technology, I’m thankful to have an organization like START to help guide our family. I may not be a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but I will be resolute in my effort to put people before screens this year. Join me?