Licensed therapist urges Caldwell-West parents to limit screens, encourage independence

Alina Jacobs, director of elementary education for Caldwell-West School District, opened a family presentation by introducing Lauren Murielo, a licensed psychotherapist and founder of Well-being Therapy Center, who spoke about modern parenting, screen time and youth mental health.

Murielo said parents are increasingly smoothing the path for children and that, combined with pervasive screen use, appears to be linked with rising rates of anxiety and depression among teens. "We're seeing is a generation of teens and young adults, that are struggling, that have the highest levels of anxiety and depression," she said, drawing on research trends and clinical experience.

She cited several specific findings and recommendations presented as part of her talk: she described broad survey trends (including a figure she summarized as about 52% of current teenagers reporting persistent feelings of sadness), said teens now spend an average of "7 to 9 hours a day" on devices and social media, and recommended limiting non-school screen time to roughly two hours daily. Murielo demonstrated practical steps parents can take, such as removing devices from bedrooms at night, using router or device parental controls to set schedules, and delaying social media access until at least middle school.

Murielo urged parents to adopt a 'gardener' approach rather than 'bulldozer' or 'carpenter' styles: give children opportunities to practice independence, permit unstructured free play and let siblings resolve low-risk conflicts themselves so they can build problem-solving skills. She offered concrete examples — for instance, having a child walk the last block to the library and check out books — to illustrate small, safe steps toward autonomy.

She also emphasized relationship-building and communication techniques. Drawing on a Harvard longitudinal study, Murielo said stable, quality relationships are stronger predictors of lifelong happiness than grades or college prestige. She recommended parents wait for a child's "cold brain" — a calm, receptive moment — for important conversations, listen without immediately trying to solve problems and offer empathy. Murielo played a short clip of Brene Brown on empathy and recited the line, "I don't even know what to say right now, but I'm so glad you told me," as an example of a validating response.

Murielo recommended praising effort rather than outcomes to reduce perfectionism and burnout, cited books and resources for further reading, and provided a QR code linking attendees to a resource list and a newsletter. She closed by saying children are resilient and invited questions both in an open forum and privately.

The presentation combined clinical observations, references to books and research, and practical, home-based strategies. Murielo offered specific, actionable recommendations — device limits, device scheduling, more unstructured play and modeled calm — and directed families to a resources list for follow-up.