In this episode I got to talk to my internet friend turned real life friend, Erin Loechner. Erin is a homeschooling mom to 3, a wife, a gifted writer and an incredibly creative, brilliant, unique person. I adore her. 

In this episode Erin shared with us about her brand-new book, The Opt-Out Family: How to Give Your Kids What Technology Can’t.  Erin’s book is a call to action and an invitation for every parent. It calls them to sit up and take notice of how the algorithm is coming after our kids, and then invites them to do something about it. The book is full of compelling research and helpful, practical ideas for helping your family opt out.  

What makes Erin’s book even more compelling is that she is actually living that life with her family. Four years ago Erin left her successful career as a social media influencer, shut down her social media accounts and opted out. She knows what she is talking about. I really enjoyed this conversation with Erin and I learned a lot. I know you will too. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes from this episode: 

*I wanted to model for my daughter what it looked like to have a vibrant career and life without social media.  

*If my kids say, “I don’t like how social media makes me feel, but I don’t know any other way. I want to be able to say, I’ve got another way. Let’s do it together.”  

*You can’t know the opportunity missed but you can know the fruit gained.  

*This is the world our children live in, where playground swings become selfie props. It is not an accident. It is the work of the algorithm. It is the work of a machine, a mission and a great strategy dreamed up by people in board rooms who make a living by stealing a life.  

*We are no longer asking why we would opt out. We are asking how we opt out.  

*It’s not enough to say no to devices. We have to say yes to something better.  

*We parents can do it better than the tech guys!  

*Our kids just want to be with us. It’s really so simple.  

*There is a powerful message being sent to parents that our kids don’t want to be with us, especially as they grow up. Then we get afraid and think we have to compete, to be cool, to be better than Tik Tok. But when we slow down and just spend time with our kids, even our teens, we find out that they really do want to be with us.  

*Start here: Give your kids your eyes.  

The 2 books Erin and I talked about are: The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio (here) and Grandma Gatewood’s Walk (here) Chase joy and go read them now! 

Find Erin’s book here 

Visit her website here for additional resources and helpful info. 

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I love you guys! 

Greta