Soon it was to become even more difficult. Within a year of my dad’s death, my stepmother was diagnosed with cancer. As she spoke to me about her devastating grief over the loss of my dad, she was struggling to stay alive herself. Six weeks after her diagnosis, I barely made it to her side as she passed away. My only sister and I became estranged through the process as well. Brutal.

So there I was, calling lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, and doctors trying to settle my mom and dad’s very complicated estates while grieving the loss of both of my parents, my stepmother, and my sister. I’d essentially lost my whole family within a year while raising my own three kids.

One day while in the middle of it all, I was feeling crushed and overwhelmed. I looked up from my computer and reflected on what my dad would think about the job I was doing trying to take care of everybody. At that moment, I recall hearing my two little ones giggling in the backroom playing Minecraft. I was flooded with gratitude, love, and fear. Too overwhelmed to be my best self, I became frightened about how much I was relying on screens to distract the kids like the families I’d seen in my practice, families who sought me out to help them cope with digital injuries like disconnection, cyberbullying, online predators, and porn addiction. I realized at that moment, we could be next.

I got myself out of that chair that day, sunk into the couch behind the kids, and started to make a plan that would allow safer screen time and also help me bond even better with my family. I wanted to be their go-to person when they needed help the most as my dad has always been there for me.

That is how GetKidsInternetSafe was born. As I pulled together the know-how I’d earned from my many years of mothering, training, private practice, and teaching, I got increasingly passionate about preventing digital injury rather than just treating it. I published my book, Screen Time in the Mean Time, offered keynote speaking and media interviews, consulted, wrote weekly blogs with my interns, and ultimately developed a toolkit of courses to help families with kids of all ages. 

I can’t wait to hear what you think about your Social Media Readiness Training Course. Before you get started, I added a gallery of videos for you to check out if you’d like. Some of the videos are news reports and below that are some videos I made to answer specific parent questions. 

If you have any feedback or questions along the way, please email me at DrTracy@DrTracyBennett.com. And please, if you like what you’re learning, share the course link with friends and family. I’d also LOVE a testimonial so more families can learn about us. 🙂