Michaeleen Doucleff, author of the New York Times bestseller Hunt, Gather, Parent, is back! And this time, we are talking screen time, junk food, and how dopamine works in kids’ brains. Michaeleen has a new book out on this topic, Dopamine Kids, and I cannot recommend it enough!
In this episode, we are going to bust some major myths about how dopamine works in the brain and why screens and junk food are so addictive. Hint: it has nothing to do with pleasure!
Then we will talk about why we both believe that strictly curating your home environment is the only real viable solution. People have limited will power, and constantly enforcing boundaries is exhausting. Children evolved to expect a lot of autonomy, and constant power struggles degrade our relationships. But that doesn’t mean you should capitulate to capitalism’s worst products and let them eat Pringles and watch Paw Patrol all day.
This episode will kick off a longer series I will be writing on PARENTING. Yes, I know, this newsletter is technically the #3 parenting newsletter on Substack, but the truth is that I am at least as interested in explaining the social context that motherhood evolved in. But there is a lot we can learn from hunter-gatherer societies about how the parent-child relationship evolved to work, why parents and kids struggle today, and how to tip the balance back in our favor. Make sure to sign up below (if you haven’t already) to get those in your inbox.
And enjoy the episode!
