Psychiatrist Tips: Why Your Teen Needs a Job (and Fewer Screens) with Dr. Adriana Stacey (#269)

What if one of the best ways to help your teen spend less time gaming and scrolling is to give them something meaningful to do in the real world?

In this episode, Melanie Hempe and Dr. Stacey explore why teens may benefit from having a part-time job—and what the research says about structured activities, screen use, executive function, confidence, responsibility, academics, and long-term outcomes.

You'll learn:

• Why structured time may protect teens from problematic technology use
• What fewer teens working today may mean for adolescent development
• How a job builds responsibility, confidence, independence, and real-world skills
• What the research says about working and school performance
• Why age and hours worked matter
• Why working more than about 20 hours a week during the school year can become problematic
• How to help a screen-focused teen find a job they can actually get excited about
• How a job can become part of a bigger goal: less screen time and more real life

The goal isn't simply to keep your teen busy or take away their screens.

It's to help them build a life they don't want to escape from.

Listen in—and then start the conversation with your teen about getting a job.

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Production Team:

• Host: Melanie Hempe
• Producer & Audio Editor: Olivia Kernekin