Parents have questions about phones, tablets, video games…essentially all the screen time things.

You might ask yourself: What age is too young to give them their own device? How do I get them to turn it off without fighting? How much time is too much?

Am I a bad mom if I not only allow, but sometimes even encourage, rotting on a screen when I just need some time to get shit done or be “on break”?

It’s so tempting to think about screens as a black or white issue. They’re either evil brain rot, or essential for human development in this digital age of AI and robots taking all our jobs?!? But neither extreme sounds quite right, does it?

That’s why I’m so happy to bring you this convo with Ash Brandin. Ash is the bestselling author of Power On. This book is such a helpful resource for this neverending battle with screens.

Something clicked while listening?

We’d love to talk with you if you want to dig deeper into your family’s specific situation. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start knowing what works, it might be worth a conversation. https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-336

About Randi Rubenstein

Randi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now in his 20’s, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker” parents like herself for almost two decades.

Randi’s Web and Social Links

1. Website: https://mastermindparenting.com/
2. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparenting
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/

About Ash Brandin

Ash Brandin, EdS, known online as TheGamerEducator, empowers families to make screen time sustainable, manageable, and beneficial for the whole family. Now in their 15th year of teaching middle school, they help caregivers navigate the world of tech with consistent, loving boundaries, founded on respect for children, appreciation of video games and tech, and knowledge of pedagogical techniques. Ash has appeared on podcasts including Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, Good Inside with Dr. Becky, and Culture Study with Anne Helen Petersen, and has contributed to articles featured on Romper, Scary Mommy, Lifehacker, The Daily Beast, USA Today, and NPR. Their bestselling book, Power On: Managing Screen Time to Benefit the Whole Family, debuted in August, 2025. In their free time, Ash loves to hike, bake, play video games, and spend time with their family.

Ash’s Web and Social Links

1. Instagram.com/thegamereducator

Finding out your child is heading down the path of drugs or alcohol are some of the darkest days imaginable. What do you do when the person you love the most is self-destructing?

My guest this time is Lisa Katona Smith. She’s a teacher, author, and mom who knows all about the fear of seeing a child in the grip of addiction. Fortunately for all of us, when she found the usual advice failing her, Lisa decided to find a better way.

Her book Parallel Recovery is a raw, honest, empowering read. It combines Lisa’s perspective as an educator with her up-close experience as a mom. If you’ve ever worried about how you’d show up for your kid in that situation, this is the convo for you.

Something clicked while listening?

We’d love to talk with you if you want to dig deeper into your family’s specific situation. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start knowing what works, it might be worth a conversation. https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-335

About Randi Rubenstein

Randi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now in his 20’s, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker” parents like herself for almost two decades.

Randi’s Web and Social Links

1. Website: https://mastermindparenting.com/
2. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparenting
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/

About Lisa Katona Smith

Lisa Katona Smith, M.Ed., is a TEDx speaker, educator, and author of Parallel Recovery—a family-centered model that empowers loved ones to heal alongside someone facing mental health and substance use challenges. Known for her clarity, compassion, and systems-level insight, Lisa helps families and professionals build sustainable, connection-based recovery through consulting, training, and transformative conversations.

Lisa’s Web and Social Links

1. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parallel_recovery/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-katona-smith-985b48212/
3. TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@parallel_recovery
4. Website: lisakatonasmith.com

Resources Discussed/Links

Our 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/

Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

We’ve come a long way in understanding how neurodivergence expresses itself in kids, compared to when I became a new mom. But even now, an Autism diagnosis can feel like some of the most dreaded words imaginable to a parent.

Can you fathom what it was like for parents in the 1980s?

Leland Vittert can. And even though his parents chose not to share his diagnosis with him until his early 20’s, he now knows the whole story of what they went through for him.

Leland is a successful journalist with his own nightly news show. But when he was a kid, Leland struggled to relate to his classmates. He was bullied by other kids, and at times, by teachers as well. After Leland was diagnosed with Autism, (now considered level 1, formerly known as Aspergers), his father made it his mission to help Leland learn the skills he’d need to function in a world that would not understand or mold to his differences.

Leland tells the whole inspiring story in his new book Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, A Grateful Son, and My Journey with Autism. He’s here to share his gratitude to his dad, and offer hope to parents who are anxious about how to best support their neurodivergent kids.

Something clicked while listening?

We’d love to talk with you if you want to dig deeper into your family’s specific situation. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start knowing what works, it might be worth a conversation. https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-334

About Randi Rubenstein

Randi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now in his 20’s, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker” parents like herself for almost two decades.

Randi’s Web and Social Links

1. Website: https://mastermindparenting.com/
2. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparenting
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/

About Leland Vittert

Leland Vittert is the host of On Balance with Leland Vittert and serves as NewsNation’s Chief Washington Anchor. A veteran journalist, Vittert joined NewsNation in May 2021, where he has been pivotal in covering national affairs and delivering special reports across the network’s primetime weeknight newscasts. Before joining NewsNation, Vittert worked for Fox News from 2010 to 2021, starting as a foreign correspondent based in Jerusalem and later anchor and correspondent in Washington.

Leland’s Web and Social Links

1. Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, A Grateful Son, and My Journey with Autism: https://www.harpercollinsfocus.com/9781400254750/born-lucky/
2. On Balance with Leland Vittert: