Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter   Visit our blog
 
Balanced Technology Management - New paradigm shift toward managing balance between technology and healthy activities
  
By Cris Rowan.

For Parents, Teachers, Health Professionals, Governments, Researchers and Technology Production Corporations
 

Children engage in an average of 7.5 hours and teens 9.0 hours per day of entertainment technologies (television, movies, video games, internet, tablets, cell phones), causing health impairments and delays in development adversely affecting student productivity in school (Kaiser Foundation 2010/15, Takeuchi 2016). 14.3% of children have a diagnosed mental illness (Waddel 2007, CDC 2013), 30% enter school developmentally delayed (Carley, HELP EDI Mapping 2009, 2013, Houtrow 2014), 25% are obese (WHO 2015, Jackson 2009) of whom one third will go on to develop diabetes (CDC 2013), and 10% are addicted to technology (Gentile 2009).
  

 
Technology Myth and Fact Sheet
  
By Cris Rowan.
 

The following twelve Technology Myths and Facts were compiled by Cris Rowan, pediatric occupational therapist, biologist, international speaker, and author of the book "Virtual Child". Cris is passionate about changing the ways in which children use technology, and has developed the concept Balanced Technology Management where parents learn to manage balance between technology and healthy activities.
  

What's New at Zone'in

 
OT in a Box - everything your school needs to enhance child development, behavior, and learning!




 
 




The Family Zone - weekend retreat for families who want to disconnect from technology and reconnect with each other; facilitated by Cris Rowan and Dr. Hilarie Cash.

 
Click here to find out how to book.







Whether you are a parent, teacher, health professional, or in government, research or technology production, Cris Rowan can help you with applying Balanced Technology Management concepts. 

Click an image or link below to find out how Cris can help you:

Where in the World is Cris?
 
Cris-small

Cris is presently on a lecture tour in Dublin Ireland, Paris France, Larnaca Cyprus, and Milan Italy speaking on the topic of impact of technology on children.

Cris in the News
 

Huffington Post has recorded over 2.4 million Facebook likes for Cris Rowan's article 10 Reasons Why Handheld Devices Should Be Banned for Children Under the Age of 12.

Foundation Series Workshop Schedule

January 12,13, 2016 - Dublin, Ireland
Workshops for professionals and parents on impact of technology on children sponsored by Young Presidents Organization.
Contact person: Denise Johnsen [email protected] + 49.176.878.27621

January 14, 2016 - Paris, France
Workshops for professionals and parents on impact of technology on children sponsored by Young Presidents Organization.
Contact person: Denise Johnsen [email protected] + 49.176.878.27621

January 16, 2016 - Cyprus
Workshops for professionals and parents on impact of technology on children sponsored by Young Presidents Organization.
Contact person: Denise Johnsen [email protected] + 49.176.878.27621 
 
January 17, 2016 - Italy
Workshops for professionals and parents on impact of technology on children sponsored by Young Presidents Organization.
Contact person: Denise Johnsen [email protected] + 49.176.878.27621 

February 21, 2016 @ 7.00pm - Squamish, BC
Workshops for parents on impact of technology on children sponsored by Sea to Sky Teachers Assoc.
Contact person: Della Halvorson [email protected] 604-892-3056

February 22, 2016 - Squamish, BC
Workshops for professionals on impact of technology on children sponsored by Sea to Sky Teachers Assoc.
Contact person: Della Halvorson [email protected] 604-892-3056
 
February 26, 2016 - Vancouver, BC
Workshop for special education teachers on impact of technology on children sponsored by Cross Current Conference.
Contact person: Mary Speaker [email protected] 

March 19, 2016 - Edmonton, Alberta
Early Intervention workshop for professionals on impact of technology on children sponsored by Community Options.
Contact person: Heidi Brett [email protected] 587-784-8390

Research and News Review

Childhood Development

By  Laura Hanby Hudgens November 10, 2015
When it comes to recess and the importance of play and physical activity, too many schools ignore the current research. Instead of treating recess as an important, in fact crucial, part of a student's day, some schools still act as if recess is a privilege bestowed on well-behaved, compliant students
 
By RTrip Jennings on Vimeo 2015
Help kids develop a love of the outdoors by playing outside.
 
By Elyse Wanshel                        
By age two, 90 percent of modern children had a moderate ability to use a tablet, with many 3 to 4 year olds addicted. How severe is this problem, and what could be the long-term effects?

The Not So Terrible Twos: Play Activities for Toddler' Developmental Growth
By Stephanie Yamkovenko AOTA Blog October 2015
Great article by an OT on alternatives to giving 2 year olds iPads. 

Mental Illness & Psychotropic Meds

By Alan Schwarzdec - December 10, 2015
Children as young as 18 months are being prescribed the antipsychotic Risperdal,a drug typically used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults, and rarely used for children as young as 5 years.

By Meghan Neal November 23, 2015
Virtual Reality(VR) has some great potential for treating various disabilities and mental health disorders. But but what happens to individuals who combine VR technology with hallucinogenic drugs? 

By Michael Gradisar 
Sleep 
38(12) November 2015
30% of teens meet DSM-IV and ISCD-II criteria for insomnia.

Social Media & Mobile Technology
  
By Jonathan Zimmerman November 10, 2015
So how should we address the issue of sexting? What if we tried to meet the kids where they are? The most promising sex education initiatives right now are text-messaging services, which allow teenagers to submit questions anonymously and receive informed answers.

JM Hormes, B Kearns, CA Timko published December 2014; 109(12):2079-88. doi: 10.1111/add.12713.
The use of online social networking sites is potentially addictive.
 
By Richard Freed November 9, 2015
The smartphone era has encouraged many fathers' complete immersion into the seductive world of sports entertainment. Moments that were once the domain of family -- outings, meals, and trips to the park or pool -- can be more about fantasy football standings than engaging with children.

By Nancy Lubin Ted Talk Video published November 2015
TED Talk about a woman who started a text crisis line www.crisistextline.org for those in trouble (suicide, depression, drugs/alcohol, abuse, neglect).

By Mark Becker Michigan State University December 2012
Overall media use in youth has increased 20 percent in the past decade, the amount of time spent multitasking with media spiked 120 percent during that period. Study found that using multiple forms of media at the same time is linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

By David Luxton Am J Public Health.  102(Suppl 2): S195-S200. May 2012
Overview of ways that social media can influence suicidal behavior, both negatively and positively, with evaluation of the evidence of the risk.
 
Technology Balance

By William Higham January 3, 2016
Prediction from UK - 2016 will see a growing reaction against the omnipresence of technology.

Published May 15, 2015 by Centre on Media and Child Health
Advice on how to discuss this with your children in a supportive, caring way where you're working together to solve this problem.

By Victoria Dunckley November 21, 2015
The electronic fast is never the nightmare parents fear it will be.

Video Games & Pornography
 
By H Takeuchi, Y Taki, H Hashizume, K Asano, M Asano, Y Sassa, S Yokota, Y Kotozaki, R Nouchi and R Kawashima published in Molecular Psychiatry January 5, 2016 doi: 10.1038/mp.2015.193 
A new study advances our understanding of videogame play as a daily habit of children and revealed that the conditions in which children play videogames for long periods of time may lead to unfavorable neurocognitive development.
  
By University of Utah Health Sciences December 27, 2015
Brain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys provide evidence that the brains of compulsive video game players are wired differently.

By E F Rothman, A Adhia published December 23, 2015 pii: E1. doi: 10.3390/bs6010001
Results suggest that weekly pornography use among underage, urban-residing youth is common, and may be associated with adolescent dating abuse (ADA) victimization..

By C Jacobson, A Bailin, R Milanaik, A Adesman to be published February 2016; 63(1):183-94. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2015.09.001.
This article examines the implications of new age technology on increased morbidity and mortality, such as suicides due to cyberbullying and motor vehicle deaths due to texting while driving.

By Dr. Andrew Doan & Brooke Strickland
Gaming addicts often neglect real world responsibilities.

On-line program to help with pornography addiction.

By Ortiz de Gortari A & Griffiths M Interactive Technology and Games Conf, paper presentation, UK October 2015
97% of study sample of 2362 gamers had experienced GTP, 95% more than once, with 6-10 different types reported.
   
Technology Addictions
 
By DL. King, SM. Gainsbury, PH. Delfabbro, N Hing, B. Abarbanel published Journal of Behavioural Addictions 12/2015; 4(4):215-220. DOI:10.1556/2006.4.2015.045
Both Gambling and gaming activities have been implicated as contributing to harm through excessive involvement. Despite this, relatively little attention has been given to the fundamental characteristics that differentiate these two classes of activity.

By Kaptsis D, King DL, Delfabbro PH, Gradisar M published Clin Psychol Rev. 2015 Dec 7; doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2015.11.006
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is currently positioned in the appendix of the DSM-5 as a condition requiring further study. The aim of this review was to examine the state of current knowledge of gaming withdrawal symptomatology, given the importance of withdrawal in positioning the disorder as a behavioral addiction.

By Rachel Oakley December 9, 2015
The Internet has become the centre of our lives - but have you ever stopped to ask yourself what happens to us as we spend more and more time online?

Education Technology

By Launa Hall December 2, 2015
My lively little kids stopped talking and adopted the bent-neck, plugged-in posture of tap, tap, swipe.

Aired on CBC Radio The Current - November 16, 2015
Sherry talks about a school she was hired to work with students as teachers were concerned over lack of conversations and use of technology.

Tech Radiation

By Harald Haas Ted Talk Video published November 2015
Using off-the-shelf LEDs and solar cells, researchers have pioneered a new technology that transmits data using light. No more radiation!.

Miscellaneous
 
TED Talk by Robert Waldinger recorded November 22, 2015
What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it's fame and money, you're not alone - but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you're mistaken.

By Caroline Knorr January 4, 2016
With tweens and teens spending more time on media than ever, these strategies can help to keep their experiences safe, productive, and fun all year long.

By Kay M. Stanney Military Psychology 25(3):191 April 2013
Issues associate with virtual reality include visual and vestibular impairment, potentially impacting driving, work, and academic ability.

By Eva Chamorro Photochemistry and Photobiology 89: 468-473 2013
12 hour LED radiations (such as from tech screens) resulted in 75-99% decreased cell viability, 66-89% increased apoptosis, and DNA damage. 

Conferences & Courses
 
Brain Development and the Significance of Trauma - Edmonton AB (or live webcast) February 10, 2016
Alberta Early Years Learing Series 2015/16 with Dr. Katie Statman-Weil, Executive Director of Wild Lilac Child Development Community, Portland, OR

Brain Development and the Impact of Technology - Edmonton AB (or live webcast)  May 4, 2016
Alberta Early Years Learing Series 2015/16 with Dr. Kelly Dean Schwartz, Associate Professor, School and Applied Child Psychology (SACP), University of Calgary

Zone'in Products

Sedentary, neglected, isolated, and overstimulated, the new millennium child can no longer pay attention and learn. Zone'in Products are designed by an occupational therapist to enhance child development and learning, ensuring successful futures.

 

Zone'in - enhancing attention, learning and self-regulation.

Move'in - teaches children to print, the foundation for literacy.

Unplug'in - builds skill and confidence in activities other than technology.

Live'in - media literacy guide for home, school and community.

 

Product Preview  

 

Virtual Child - The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children

Virtual Child

By Cris Rowan, pediatric occupational therapist.

 
Virtual Child documents the impact technology has had on the developing child, and proposes tools and techniques to manage balance between activities children need for growth and success with technology use. 

Need more info? Visit www.virtualchild.ca

BUY NOW ON Amazon.com 
amazon.com  


Cris-small
About the Author
Cris Rowan is a pediatric occupational therapist committed to enhancing child health and academic performance. Well known activist, speaker, sensory specialist and author, Cris is the "Go To" expert on child learning, development and technology overuse. Cris has provided over 200 workshops for health and education professionals, and is currently developing the Creating Sustainable Futures Program for a First Nations Community.
  
Training & Consultation
 
Training

Instructor training for Foundation Series Workshops places pediatric occupational therapists on the cutting edge as experts in the field of technology's impact on child development.

Zone'in Training


Consultation
Innovative team-based approach to manage balance between activities children need to grow and succeed with technology use.

Cris Rowan is now offering private phone/Skype consultations. 

Care to Donate?
 
Zone'in Programs Inc. and Cris Rowan are seeking your support and assistance to ensure sustainable and productive futures for our children. Find out more about how you can help us!
Contact Us
 
6840 Seaview Rd. Sechelt BC V0N3A4 
Tel: 1-888-896-6346
Fax: 1-877-896-6346
� Zone'in Programs Inc. 2015