Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Reveal the Parenting Advice They Follow From ‘The Anxious Generation’ Author Jonathan Haidt

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They may be too young to worry about cell phones or completing independent activities without an adult present, but that doesn’t mean that Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, can’t already benefit from some of The Anxious Generation author Jonathan Haidt’s principals. Their parents, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, recently chatted with Haidt and revealed one piece of parenting advice that they already follow with their kids.

The Sussexes made a virtual appearance at an Oprah book launch event, where they talked to Haidt and author Catherine Price about their new book, The Amazing Generation. This new book is written for kids and tweens about how to live a life not controlled by phones and screens. (Something we are huge fans of too!)

Prince Harry told the authors that their work is “incredibly valuable,” per The Mirror. “Over the years, we’ve worked with how the digital spaces [are] deeply affecting our collective and mental, emotional and physical health,” he continued. “Obviously, a huge congratulations to you and the outcome of your research, which has created a parent-led movement, which is astonishing and much needed.”

Markle added that they were “proud to be a part” of the movement. And she revealed what part of their guide they use at home. “You were saying, you cannot replace the feeling of a deep, guttural belly laugh. An emoji laugh is not the same physiological response that we need, that our kids need,” she continued. “What I love is that the more that we encourage our children to do this, we mimic those same behaviors. We also start to play, and we also start to be more present.”

It really is such a good reminder about the power of play! It’s hard to get bogged down with daily responsibilities and school runs and everything else that must get done, but if you have time to play board games or act silly or play with toys, it makes a world of difference in our kids’ lives.

In an interview at the Future of Fatherhood Summit in New York City in June, Haidt opened up about the importance of kids engaging in safe risk-taking. “Risk and fear and excitement and thrills — these are biologically necessary,” Haidt said. “Kids need to climb a tree to the point where they’re scared. And then maybe they go down, but then the next time they go higher, they need that over and over again.”

He called on dads in particular “to step up and be the one who pushes for free play, risk-taking, independence, and thrills.” Haidt added, “If you protect your kids from all risk, you’re ultimately hurting them. You want your kids to leave the nest and fly. We’ve gotta give ‘em some practice flying.”

And they aren’t going to get that on screens. “I focused on adolescents in the book [The Anxious Generation], but now I’m seeing even more damage might be being done in the first five-to-seven years because of heavy screen use,” he added.

For years, Prince Harry and Markle have been talking about keeping kids safe online. In 2022, Prince Harry joined the 5Rights Foundation in a Global Child Online Safety Toolkit webinar, where he said, “As parents, my wife and I are concerned about the next generation growing up in a world where they are treated as digital experiments for companies to make money and where things like hatred and harm are somehow normalized,” he said. “We want our children and all children to feel empowered to speak up.”

He added, “I’m not an expert on law or technology, but I am a father — and I’m lucky enough to be a father with a platform. My kids are too young to have experienced the online world yet, and I hope they never have to experience it as it exists now. No kid should have to.”

And it all starts with putting down screens (our kids and our own!) and just spending some quality one-on-one face time with them.

Before you go, check out everything we know about Princess Lilibet and the alleged controversy around her name.