Turning Life On
Resource Library
Folders
Why Distraction-Free Learning Matters
What the research says about phones and screens during the school day, what Massachusetts schools are already seeing, and what families can do.
A Holistic Approach to Keeping Tech in Check
Six pillars of digital wellness, each with the dangers to watch for and healthy strategies to try. Developed with Emerson Health.
Values-Based Parenting
Five practices that help kids build an inner compass for a digital world, from cultivating inner resources to modeling fully human living.
Screen Time Recommendations by Stage
What kids are developing at every age, what they need from you, and where screens fit, from birth through high school. Includes a one-page summary.
Where We Stand on Tech
Our platform: age-by-age guidance on phones, social media, gaming, school technology and AI, grounded in child development, holistic health and values-based parenting.
What Is Addictive Design?
It's not you. It's the design. How apps and games are built to capture attention, what the research shows, and what families, schools and communities can do about it.
Slow Tech at Home: A Family Guide
Simple habits, phone settings and router settings that help your family use technology on purpose. Includes five family steps, how-to settings for iPhone and Android, and a printable fridge checklist.
Green Tier 3: Healthy Defaults on School Devices
This priority asks districts to work with IT to enable a set of settings most schools already have access to. These include downtime hours, after-hours restrictions, and blocked full YouTube access, allowing only teacher-embedded videos.
Green Tier 2: Phone-free Schools Policy
A bell-to-bell, phone-free school day is the most legislatively advanced of all our priorities. Massachusetts’ House and Senate have already agreed on the personal-device provisions of pending legislation, which, contrary to what many districts claim, means districts do not need to wait for a final vote or a policy from DESE to act.
Green Tier 1: Ditch "Free" Screen-time
This is the easiest, lowest-cost place to start. There's no policy to pass and no IT ticket to file. All you need to do is have a conversation with a teacher about what happens during “free time” in the classroom.
Black Tier 3: Digital Product Standards
Sets the standards every digital product, including AI, should be measured against before it reaches a classroom, including safety, privacy, educational effectiveness, equity, and independence from the industry it’s meant to evaluate. Most districts already have a review process in place, and are hesitant to give authority to an outside body. That said, there are many reasons why parents deserve a seat at the table, and why this process needs to be continuously updated and transparent.
Black Tier 1: Next steps on healthy defaults on school devices
Escalates Green Tier’s Healthy Defaults and Tiered Access to Screens by Grade Band, includes: whitelist-only access in grades K–8, a maintained blocklist in grades 9–12, cameras off by default, non-instructional platforms (including social media and gaming) blocked outright, AI tools disabled by default district-wide, personal data fully wiped before device reassignment, and EdTech audit, reduction and transparency.