Digital Wellness, Media Mentor Month and Global Day of Unplugging
March is the Perfect Time to Refresh Your Tween or Teen’s Online Life!
Spring isn’t just for cleaning out closets—it’s the perfect time to help your tween or teen tidy up their online world. Whether it’s clearing out old apps, organizing their notifications, or having deeper conversations about how they use their devices, March is all about fresh starts.
Media Mentor Month: Spring Cleaning Edition
If you’ve ever felt unsure about how to guide your child’s digital life without resorting to strict rules or constant battles, Media Mentor Month is for you.
What is it?
Media Mentor Month is the idea of a month-long challenge that gives parents easy, actionable ways to become a guide for their child’s digital world, started by the International educator, Keri-Lee Beasley.
Instead of feeling like you need to control everything, you’ll learn how to mentor them—having open conversations, setting boundaries together, and encouraging critical thinking about media. This year, I've dedicated the month of March to Spring Cleaning alongside your tween or teen.
Why should you participate?
✔️ It makes tricky digital topics easier to discuss.
✔️ You’ll connect with your child rather than just monitoring them or feeling out of the loop.
✔️ It builds trust and opens the door for more ongoing conversations.
Throughout March on Instagram, I’ll be sharing 3 simple, practical ways to refresh your child’s digital habits each week—from organizing their devices to rethinking social media use.
Ready for ideas? Follow along on Instagram (click the button below to see the first post) for my Spring Cleaning for Your Digital Life series!
March 7-8: Try a 24-Hour Unplug Challenge
The Global Day of Unplugging is another great opportunity to reset your family’s tech habits. From sundown on March 7 to sundown on March 8, families around the world take 24 hours to step away from screens and reconnect in real life.
Here’s why it’s worth trying (even if you don’t unplug for the full 24 hours!):
Gives your family a break from notifications and distractions.
Helps tweens and teens notice how much they rely on screens.
Creates space for face-to-face conversations and offline fun.
Not sure what to do instead? Plan a family dinner, go for a walk, play a board game, or let your tween or teen decide! You might be surprised by what they come up with.
Learn more or sign up for a reminder here: globaldayofunplugging.org
How My Digital Parenting Journey Started
Like many parents, I struggled to find the right balance when it came to my kids and screen time. With three young kids in elementary school, I relied on parental controls like OurPact—blocking, setting schedules, and cutting them off when needed. But as my kids grew, I started questioning if control was really the answer.
As an educator, I dove deep into digital citizenship, becoming a Common Sense Educator and later a Common Sense Ambassador, training staff and integrating digital lessons across our school. But something still felt missing. I wanted more than just rules and safety checklists—I wanted a deeper, more meaningful approach to raising kids in a digital world.
That’s when I discovered digital wellness and became a certified Digital Wellness Educator. I then elt like I had the tools to help not just my students, but also parents, teachers, and—most importantly—my own kids.
Now, my focus is on mentorship over monitoring—helping parents move beyond just setting limits to truly guiding their tweens and teens through their online world. If you'd like to hear more, you can catch this week's podcast of The Resilient Kid, where I talk to Psychotherapist Ashley Costello.
