We are living in a digital world where technology dominates the world. As per the reports, the number of smartphone users today is 6.64 Billion, which translates to 83.72% of the world’s population owning a smartphone.
As of April 2022, there were five billion internet users worldwide, which is 63 %of the global population. Of that number, 4.65 billion were social network users. The question now becomes, in this world of technology and easy access to information, how do parents ensure that their kid has a healthy and balanced relationship with technology in this scenario, especially regarding teens? Adolescence confuses parents and their children from independence to protect against bad habits. The list is endless.
Why not get free advice from experts rather than guessing your way through those years with your teen?
This article lists some must-watch TED Talks that offer short, easy-to-digest videos from experts who can open your mind to a new parenting approach or perhaps a much-needed new perspective.
Julie Lythcott-Haims, "How to Raise Successful Kids — Without Over-Parenting."
Julie Lythcott-Haim is an author and dean of Stanford University. Her video shares some brilliant but simple solutions to avoid what she calls the "check-listed childhood."
Through this TED Talk, discover some specific but crucial questions you could ask your kids when they return from school to build deeper connections.
Angela Lee Duckworth, "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance."
Former teacher Angela Lee Duckworth explains why some children stick with it, and others don't. Why do certain people work towards long-term goals? And how is that going to change the way we raise and educate? She realized that IQ was not the only thing that separated successful students from those experiencing difficulties – it could be "courage."
Temple Grandin, "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds."
Mary Temple Grandin, an American scientist and animal behaviourist, has lived her amazing life harnessing the uniqueness of her autism, and she lets us know how critical different brains are in our world.
In a 2010 TED Talk, she explains the need for different types of cognition and provides a first-person view of someone living on the autism spectrum. In this talk, she discusses how she can bridge understanding between humans and animals and people on and off the autism spectrum. In simple words, she speaks of how she thinks in pictures rather than language. She also advocates that society appreciates different minds: sensory thinkers, pattern thinkers, and abstract thinkers.
Gever Tulley, "5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do."
Gever Tulley, the founder of the Tinkering School at TED U, spells out five dangerous things you should let your kids do – and why a little danger is suitable. Here's a guy who puts power tools in the hands of third graders, and this TED conference explains why he thinks it's a fabulous idea. Listening to it changed my parenting style and hasn't scared my kids yet.
Jennifer Senior, "For Parents, Happiness Is a Very High Bar."
In her video, Jennifer Senior, a contributing editor at New York Magazine, answers questions like, Have you ever felt anxious or overwhelmed by parenting? Is the parental shelf in the bookstore giving you palpitations?
Find out what Jennifer thinks is a better objective for us as parents than to make our kids happy.
Reshma Saujani, "Teach girls bravery, not perfection."
Reshma Saujani, the author of "Brave, Not Perfect" and founder of Girls Who Code, aims to raise girls to perfection and boys to courage. She's taken charge of the socialization of girls to take risks and learn how to program - two skills they need to move society forward. To innovate, we cannot leave half our people behind. "I need you to tell all the young women you know to be comfortable with imperfection," she says.
Jedidah Isler, "The Untapped Genius That Could Change Science for the Better."
Dr. Jedidah Isler is an award-winning astrophysicist, TED Fellow, nationally recognized speaker, and advocates for inclusive STEM education. In her TED Talk, she reflects upon how it feels to be an astrophysicist who also happens to be a black woman. Jedidah talks about intersectionality and why our children and we need to understand it. Through her talk, she inspires us to improve ourselves.
Josh Shipp, "Your Child's most annoying trait might reveal their biggest strength."
Josh Shipp, author and youth empowerment expert takes an unconventional look at our kids' hidden talents. Shipp highlights that there's a good chance that your child's greatest strength is hidden beneath their most annoying trait. This talk can help parents better understand their teens, view them through a slightly different lens and help them become the best version of themselves.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, "The Mysterious workings of the adolescent brain."
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Psychology Professor at the University of Cambridge, UK, and leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neurosciences Group, In her outstanding TED lecture, "The Mysterious Workings of the Adolescent Brain," compares the prefrontal cortex in teens with adults to show us how typically "teenage" behaviour is caused by the growing and developing brain.
She also explains how the mature teen brain negotiates "executive" tasks such as planning, self-awareness, and behavioural choices.
Kris Prochaska, "How to get your ten to listen and engage."
Kris Prochaska, formerly a psychotherapist and now a coach and consultant, TED Talk, uses intuitive insight and diagnostic skills to remind us that we need to recognize our children as intelligent, intuitive, and capable and that all our conversations with them must start respectfully, even when they drive us crazy.
Do watch them, If you're a parent of teenagers.
