Why Kids Melt Down When Screens Turn Off (And How to Calm the Chaos) | Gabie Izralson PsyD
There have been moments where I’ve told my kids to turn off their screens and instantly regretted it — not because I didn’t mean it, but because I knew what was coming next: the tears, the frustration, the full emotional unraveling. For a long time, I felt powerless against the pull of screens. But as Dr. Gabie Izralson reminded me, we’re actually the ones in control. Once I reframed that, everything shifted. I stopped seeing screens as the enemy and started seeing them as something we could manage — with structure, communication, and a little more grace for everyone involved.
How Screens Affect Your Child’s Vision, Sleep, and Brain
I see this all the time in my clinic—and in my own home. As both a pediatric ophthalmologist and a mom of three, I know how overwhelming the screen time battles can feel. We all want to protect our kids’ health, but between conflicting studies, endless advice, and the sheer pull of technology, it’s tough to know where to start. That’s why I always turn back to the research and then ask: how do we actually make this doable in real life?