There is a place for both playing for enjoyment and focused, deliberate practice to improve…
Screen Time & Motivation to Practice: A Conversation with Megan Orton
This week on the Time to Practice podcast, we’re speaking with Megan Orton. Megan is a musician, parent, and former Suzuki violin teacher who now runs Mindful Media – where she speaks and coaches parents as they think about setting healthy limits for screen time and navigating parenting in the digital age. In this episode, Megan talks about the impact of modern screen time on children’s motivation and development. She discusses “persuasive design” that has been built into certain kinds of technology and screen time that our kids may interact with. She also explains the impact of “low effort, high reward” like certain kinds of screen time and how they can make real-world “high effort, healthy reward” activities like music practice seem boring and difficult.
Megan shared the science behind the challenges we may see happening with our kids and technology and offers practical advice for parents, such as creating a screen-free buffer before practice and reframing screen time as a “dessert” rather than a main course. She also emphasizes the developmental importance of boredom for fostering creativity and intrinsic motivation.
This is not an anti-technology or anti-screen-time discussion, but our conversation does address some of the challenges students may face when moving from screen-based activities to practice or music lessons and offers practical suggestions to consider. We hope this encourages you that you’re not alone in navigating these challenges and gives you some ideas for solutions.
To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below:
Practice Motivation & Screen Time with Megan Orton of MIndful Media – Time To Practice
To access resources from Megan Orton mentioned on this episode you can visit this page on her website
Links in this Episode with Megan Orton :
Find Megan Orton’s Handouts and Website HERE
Join Christine’s March 7th Talk as an Individual or as a Studio
Resources at SuzukiTriangle.com
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Request a Parent Talk, Presentation, or Book Club Discussion with Christine
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