Parents Keep Asking Her for Permission to Say No

If you've ever felt like you need permission to take away your child's iPad or delete Snapchat from your 12-year-old's phone, you're not alone, and that hesitation is one of the biggest reasons screen time limits fall apart at home. The good news: you have far more power here than you think.

Katherine Martinko, author of Childhood Unplugged and the upcoming Hold the Phone, spent over a decade as a digital media editor and has delivered more than 70 keynotes and workshops on kids and screens across North America.

She and Titania Jordan, Bark's Chief Parent Officer and bestselling author of two books on digital parenting, break down how to hold a limit in the middle of a meltdown, why you need to "fill the void" before you take devices away, and why she recommends waiting until 16 for a smartphone. You'll also hear the parent habit that quietly makes screen conflict worse, plus a realistic first step you can take this week, even if you feel like you've already lost control.

Key insight: If you change only one thing, keep phones out of your teen's bedroom. Even kids with excellent self-control can't resist a device beside the bed, and the lost sleep shows up in their focus at school.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Preorder Hold the Phone: How Parents Can Rescue Their Kids From Too Much Screen Time (out Nov. 24, 2026): https://info.bark.us/hold-the-phone
• Get Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance: https://info.bark.us/childhood-unplugged
• Subscribe to Katherine's Substack, The Analog Family: https://info.bark.us/km-substack
• Book Katherine to speak at your school or event: https://info.bark.us/katherine-martinko

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Join the conversation in our Parenting in a Tech World Facebook community: https://info.bark.us/join-pitw

Ready to set screen time limits that actually stick? Bark is an AI-powered online safety platform that monitors kids' devices and alerts parents to real threats, including cyberbullying, predators, self-harm, and sextortion, without reading every message. Learn more: https://www.bark.us/