Welcome to The Connected Family

I'm so glad you're here!

We started with Yoto players and kid coupons, but we’ve yet to make a formal introduction, so… hi!

I’m excited to welcome you to The Connected Family. My name is Emily, and along with my husband, John, and our family, I’m so happy you’re here.

I have been blogging since 2008 (!) and find great joy in chatting with readers about things that matter. As parents, few things matter more than raising kids who thrive; we believe navigating technology well is a key part of that.

But technology can feel scary, especially when it comes to our kids. It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of overwhelming statistics and alone when your middle schooler wails, “but I’m the only one without a phooooooone!”

WELCOME! We believe you are not helpless, and you’re not alone.

We believe you are capable of leading your family’s tech use in a wise and healthy way — that, in fact, you’re the very best one to do it. We’d like to help.

First, we’ll empower you to create a connected childhood for your kids — one that encourages them to fall in love with the big, beautiful world and that is rich in meaning, connection, and joy. This is not about doing more (you’ll find I’m very practical!), but is often about doing less.

Then, as you move into the tween and teen years, we’ll equip you to lead your family as you navigate on-the-ground tech conversations and decisions with grace and agility.

Why me?

Something important here at the start: I’m not an expert. I’m not a psychologist, and I don’t have an advanced degree. I haven’t written any books. I don’t even have a teenager in my house, for goodness’ sake.

But I do have passion — lots of it. And I believe we need more people, not fewer, talking about this incredibly important topic (however imperfectly).

In addition to passion, I can offer you what I’ve offered readers of my personal blog, Em for Marvelous, for the last 15 years:

I’m a researcher and a reader. Enneagram 5 over here! There are plenty of wise people sharing ideas that would be so helpful in your home — but maybe it all feels overwhelming. You’d like someone to pick through and pull out the best bits, showing how they can be applied in a real home. I love a good parenting book (but only the good ones) or screen-time-study deep dive, and will happily read ahead for both of us.

I’m an experimenter. At 8, 5, and 2, our kids are already unfazed by new ideas and habits being introduced into our family rhythms.

I’m the daughter of incredible parents who gave me a play-based childhood, a chance to take risks, and the capacity for awe, wonder, imagination, and boredom. I want to pass it all on.

I think deeply and work daily to bring my husband’s and my big-picture vision to life for our family. And I’ve helped thousands of other women and families do the same for my entire career. I know what it looks like to develop habits, shape a family culture, and effectively guide others to do the same.

And most importantly, I’m a mom. I want to figure this out for my own family, and my own friends and community, and I want that for you, too. This started as me creating something for my own precious kids — sharing it only if I thought it could be helpful for someone else — and that’s how it will stay.

The good news

For a parent hoping to offer their teen a low-screen life, the current outlook is grim: a recent study found 95% of teens ages 13-17 have access to a smartphone, one-third are using one of the top five social media sites “almost constantly” (!), and the majority are using YouTube and TikTok daily.

Still — I believe the tide is turning. The evidence that kids (and teens) + social media (and smartphones) equals more loneliness, anxiety, and depression is strong and growing louder. It’s increasingly hard to ignore. And those of us raising younger kids have the benefit of hearing eloquent pleas from some of the first kids, now young adults, to be handed phones and social media at a young age.

So yes, I believe the tide is turning — but it can’t turn on its own. We need to be a part of turning it, and I want to do it together: the gnarliest issues of kids + tech are collective action ones, which means they’re hard to solve as individuals. (For example, if your kid is the only eighth grader without social media, that is really hard. If very few eighth graders have social media, it’s no longer a problem.)

So — welcome. If you’d like to be a part of all this, and chat about…

play-based childhoods
shaping family culture
raising confident, independent kids
building community
navigating tech as a family
living the low-screen life
enjoying family time
supporting phone-free schools
modeling healthy tech behaviors as a grown-up
and truly thriving as a family,

please stay.

Why subscribe?

I love how the community of a newsletter gives us space to thoughtfully discuss things that really matter.

Paid subscribers ($5/month or $50/year) get access to every post and my deep gratitude. You’ll also get the ability to comment on posts, ask questions, search the archives, and join the community!

Free subscribers get one post a month and my deep gratitude. (Seriously! I am incredibly grateful for every person who thinks our kids are worth protecting and investing in, and who is doing the good, hard work of navigating tech in their own community and family.)

Either way, I’m so glad you’re here. If you’d like, click over to the comments and tell me: What are you eager for us to discuss here? What would be your dream post topic? What can I help you with? I’d truly love to hear!