304: Are phones really that bad for our kids? With Dr Dean Burnett

The Scummy Mummies Podcast

Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn

Kids & Family, Self-improvement, Parenting, Education

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What's the right age to give a child a mobile phone? How long should kids spend on screens each day? Why don't we need to feel as guilty about our children's phone use as we might think? Answering all these questions is the awesome neuroscientist Dean Burnett.

He explains the difference between compulsion and addiction, and why he doesn't think Australia's plan to ban social media for under 16s is a good idea. We look at tricky issues like explicit content, cyberbullying, and the effect of staring at a screen on kids' eyesight - and find out what we can do about them. Dean tells us how long his own children spend on screens each day, and we are relieved.

Along with giving us some tips on dealing with teens, Dean reveals how we can stave off the brain fog that comes with age. We end with some Scummy Mummy Confessions involving dirty pants, the Miami International Psychedelics Convention, and a packet of ham. And keep listening right to the end for some very strong language as we learn the Welsh term for "jellyfish".

Dean's brilliant books, Why Your Parents Are Driving You Up The Wall And What You Can Do About It and Why Your Parents Are Hung Up On Your Phone And What To Do About It are out now. For more from Dean go to deanburnett.com.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of Scummy Mummies is brought to you by the Woodland Trust, helping us all keep our finger on Spring's pulse.
0:06.5	Yes, we need your help to check the vital signs of the season, because climate change is messing with nature's timing, and the Woodland Trust is tracking what's happening.
0:14.9	And it's easy. Just step outside and look out for any of these three signs of spring.
0:19.4	The first time you hear a song thrush singing.
0:21.8	Not sure what it sounds like? No worries, just head to woodlandtrust.org.org
0:25.4	dot UK forward slash vital signs to hear a recording. The first frog spawn you spot in a pond or
0:31.4	stream. Or the first blackthorn blossom you see. That's the one that grows slows for slow gin,
0:36.4	so obviously very important.
0:38.4	The more of us that log our sightings, the better we can understand how climate change is affecting nature.
0:43.8	And let's be honest, it's also a great excuse to get outside, shake off the winter blues and feel good in the process.
0:50.5	So get out there and help the Woodland Trust check the vital signs of spring. Find out more
0:55.0	and log your sightings now at Woodlandtrust.org.org.org
0:58.8	forward slash vital signs.
1:04.3	Hello scumbags. This is the Scummy Mummy's podcast.
1:08.8	With your hosts, Ellie Gibson and Helen Thor.
1:17.1	Hello and welcome to the Scummy Mummy's podcast. It's me, Helen Thor.
1:20.8	It's me and Gibson.
1:22.5	We're a monks and learned scholar, Ellie.
1:24.9	I'm really excited because today we won't use your formal title,
1:28.6	but it is a wonderful author, scientist, all around, quite knowledgeable for a man.
1:33.4	Being called worse than all of these, so well, I'll accept it. Come in, it's knowledgeable man,
1:37.8	folk. Dean Burnett, author, all sorts of things. You were recently on the radar, even yesterday.
	...

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