Parenting in the Digital Age … An Evening with Rahel Bayar

By Amy Witten

Hello, Fort Worth Country Day family! Every summer, faculty members have the opportunity to choose a book to read and engage in discussion about that book with colleagues. This summer, I read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. I’m always on the lookout for reading material that will help inform best practices. Haidt framed our children’s phone and internet usage as a huge social experiment, and I was struck by the data he presented. The increase in depression and anxiety among preteen and teenaged girls, the increase in mental illness among college students, and the increase in self-harm are topics in this book that the U.S. Surgeon General has also addressed.

I’m happy to say that at FWCD, I see a lot of happy, smiling, laughing and engaged students in all divisions. Even so, knowing that cell phone and social media usage are growing areas of concern among parents, we are quite proud to bring Rahel Bayar to campus. Rahel works with schools nationwide, and we have asked her to give the community some tools to help us guide our students to a healthy place with phones and social media. 

A former sex crimes investigator and prosecutor, Rahel is the CEO of The Bayar Group and works with schools, summer camps and corporations to create safe spaces. In addition to giving our parents and guardians a toolkit for having conversations with children and setting boundaries around internet and social media usage on November 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Goff Room of the Fischer Dining Pavilion, Rahel will be speaking to our grades 4-12 students to educate them on healthy use of social media, taking care of their digital footprints, and how to stay safe online  I have had the privilege of hearing Rahel’s talks in the past and am impressed with her ability to quickly connect and engage students. 

Please continue to reach out to me to let me know what is on your mind these days. Our conversations, in conjunction with feedback from faculty and Division Heads, help me focus resources where they will most positively impact our students.