You’ve been told to limit screen time. I’m going to tell you to reframe it. Your frame causes your child’s brain to treat the end of screen time like danger—but you can shift this. When you say “No more iPad,” your child’s nervous system registers threat. Their brain was getting perfect dopamine hits—bright colors, sounds, engagement—and now you’re ripping them out of high stimulation into the boring real world. That’s not defiance. That’s biology. The meltdown isn’t about the screen. It’s about