iParent101.com

04/14/2026

Register today!

04/05/2026

The goal was never the battle. It was always the human on the other side of it!

03/26/2026

See you there!

03/16/2026

🎓 I'm looking for motivated college and graduate students for the iParent101 Internship Class Summer 2026.
This is a hands-on role working directly with me on social media, content creation, video editing, and education advocacy — including the launch of my forthcoming book, The Regulation Gap.
Interns will work with a small, focused team, contribute to real projects, and complete a capstone by the end of the summer.
📅 Summer 2026. Hybrid, DC Metro. 20 hours per week.
🧠 Great fit for students studying psychology, education, communications, public health, or marketing.
Full description and application here:
https://iparent101.com/iparent101-llc-digital-media-advocacy-internship/
Tag a student who should apply. 👇

03/14/2026

Raising teens in a connected world means navigating things no previous generation of parents had to deal with.
April 27 at Bender JCC, Rockville, MD Dr. Pletter will be on a panel on teen online safety, cyberbullying, digital exploitation, and how to actually talk to your kid about it.
Dr. Pletter will be joined by parenting columnist Meghan Leahy, an Assistant AG from the DC Office of the Attorney General, and the Senior Director of the BBYO Center for Adolescent Wellness. Sign up here:
benderjccgw.org/digital

03/14/2026

Parenting in the digital world is harder than it looks, and most of us are figuring it out without a roadmap.
On April 27, I'll be on a panel at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington alongside Washington Post parenting columnist Meghan Leahy, Assistant Attorney General Caren Schiffman, and Drew Fidler from BBYO. We'll talk about what's actually happening in your teenager's digital life: red flags, real risks, and practical tools you can use starting that night.
7:00–9:00 PM. Register at benderjccgw.org/digital or scan the QR code in the flyer.

03/07/2026

Joining the incomparable Meghan Leahy, Washington Post's On Parenting columnist and author, for a conversation every parent of a pre-teen or teen in the DC area should hear.
April 27 | 7–9pm | Bender JCC, Rockville |
Tag a parent who needs this. Link to register in comments.

Send a message to learn more

03/07/2026

Here's something that's been bothering me for a while.
When teenagers started dying in car accidents, nobody said "teach kids to be more careful." We built seatbelts. Graduated licenses. We matched the environment to where kids actually are developmentally.
So why is a child's first iPhone a fully-loaded adult device?
The answer we've given parents is: turn stuff off. Figure it out. Good luck.
It's not only a parenting problem. It's a design problem.
As a psychologist who works with families, I see that gap every week. I pitched Apple a specific idea: a Starter iPhone where parents turn features on as a child grows into them.
I need 1,000 parents to tell Apple the same thing. It takes 60 seconds and goes directly to their feedback form.
Link in comments. Share if this resonates. 🍎

Send a message to learn more

02/26/2026

The mental health conversation around kids and phones is often too simple.

It’s not just screen time.
It’s the gap between the speed of the digital world and the pace of a developing brain.

Big thank you to both Bonnie Zuckers for inviting me on their Anxiety Matters podcast to unpack that and talk about practical ways families can handle it.

Listen, like and Share!

Podcast Episode · Anxiety Matters · February 26 · 47m

02/15/2026

This week, major social platforms are defending their design choices in court. The legal question is liability.
The developmental question is sequence! Design is what shapes development.

02/13/2026

This week, major social platforms are defending their design choices in court. The legal question is liability.
The developmental question is sequence.

Self-regulation strengthens when effort comes before reward.

Many digital platforms deliver reward before effort.
When environments reverse that order, behavior adapts.

That mismatch shows up in homes long before it reaches a courtroom.
Design shapes development.

Platforms optimize for engagement. Parents optimize for development.

02/03/2026

New iParent101 To Go has been released on Meet 5 - the app for making friends, not dating matches! Check it out now.