Millennial Mom Thoughts

Jordan Spicklemire and Helen Plevka-Jones
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Kids & Family

Two millennial moms...sharing some thoughts. As parents and as education professionals, we discuss our past, present, and future relationships with changing technologies. We're interested in how it impacts ourselves, our students, and our kiddos, and we're learning how to advocate for the issues we care most about.

  1. 1d ago

    EPISODE 57: A Conversation with Mary Flenner, Founder of Tween Magazine

    As moms to daughters we are thrilled to share our conversation with Mary Flenner, the founder and creative director of Tween Magazine. Tween is an empowering print magazine for girls! Mary is a mom to three girls and wanted to create a magazine she felt good about them reading. The magazine is filled with stories about real-world girls, games, advice, fun facts and more. Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  2. 2d ago

    Your Attention Please: A conversation with Sara Robin & Jack LeMay

    On this special episode, we interview the creative and passionate minds behind the new documentary Your Attention Please: Sara Robin (Director/Producer) and Jack LeMay (Editor/Writer). Your Attention Please (available now on Apple TV, Amazon, and Doc+) explores how social media platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive, and what happens when families, educators, and young people fight back.  In this conversation, we talk about… the power of film to change political sentiment. the expertise of Gen Z and their potential to take power back.  the global pervasiveness of social media harms. the throughline of engagement-based business models, through social media into AI.  the evolution from the attention economy to the intimacy economy.  the symbolic value of the Meta settlement and the necessity of stronger federal legislation.  the possibility of algorithms towards positive social connection and empathy.  the exploitation of surveillance capitalism. the intended impact of the film upon lawmakers, young people, and parents. the sacrifices and benefits of going phone-free.  the accessibility of action and the collective strength of doing little things. Join the movement at yourattentionplz.com. Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  3. Sep 24

    EPISODE 55: Pumpkins, Books, and Public Testimony

    It’s episode fifty-freakin’-five, everyone…just don’t tell Helen’s mom! We are fresh off the Morton Pumpkin Festival weekend, and it was filled with rides, wristbands, runs, and parades. Jordan shares the exciting news that she will be facilitating an after-school club at her son’s elementary school for 4th-6th graders reading The Amazing Generation. Speaking of good books, Helen is about 85% through the audiobook for Natasha Singer’s newest book, Coding Kids: Big Tech’s Battle to Remake Public Schools. Although Jordan isn’t as far into the book yet, we already have plenty to discuss and will absolutely be dedicating a future episode about the book soon! And we have even more book talk and share about two Dopamine-filled books: Dopamine Kids (Michaeleen Doucleff) and Dopamine Nation (Dr. Anna Lembke). Helen faced a challenging library situation where an older child was upsetting her toddler and we talk through how to navigate those difficult, sometimes uncomfortable moments. This leads us to talking about what is the right age to start allowing your kids to do things independently, out in the world. Jordan shares about her recent public testimony given to the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) during a listening session held to understand the impacts of screen-based instruction in schools. Helen asks Jordan to share the advice she would give to others that also want to share their own voice on issues that matter to them. Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  4. Sep 17

    EPISODE 54: Go UnPluggEd! A conversation with Kathleen Barlow

    If you are looking for a reason to hit reset on your technology use in your home or classroom, The UnPluggEd Project happening in October is just what you need! We are joined this week by Kathleen Barlow, a former teacher, mom of six, ScreenStrong Ambassador, and a strong advocate for kids and families. Though Helen was present for this fantastic conversation, you won’t hear much from her because she quite literally lost her voice. We start off learning all about Kathleen’s journey to the advocacy work she does today: helping families to support more of a play-based childhood and establish healthier screen habits. Kathleen is one of the founding members of Smartphone Free Childhood US, which is a group that the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project came out of. Kathleen shares the origin of the UnPluggEd Project, which is happening October 5-9 and intended to help schools and families support a week of distraction-free learning. Once people register to participate, they receive an incredible playbook with tips, ideas, and resources to help families, teachers, and school administrators to unplug. Naturally our discussion of going unplugged leads to talking about pumpkins and upcoming pumpkin festivals we all will be attending (though in different states!). We hope this conversation inspires you to go unplugged this October! Discover more of Kathleen's work on her Substack Swimming Upscreen and her podcast GenFree. Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms. Hop on the Distraction-Free Schools Community of Practice call and Schools Beyond Screens Wednesday call.

  5. Sep 10

    EPISODE 53: Throwing frisbees and jumping through hoops!

    The countdown to the Morton Pumpkin Festival is on, and the smell of rotting pumpkins is filling the air! Helen gives an update about her classes, including how she and her students are navigating her mostly-device-free technology policy. She talks through the examples of when classwork does allow for the use of devices and how she is using the tech intentionally with her students. Jordan shares about a recent local radio segment, “What to know about Illinois’ cell phone ban in schools,” from Illinois Public Media. In addition to discussing the new personal device law, there was talk from a professor about problems with edtech products entering K-12 schools. This leads to a discussion of the hoops educators often have to jump through in order to become professionally licensed while keeping up with the many requirements. Jordan shares the difficulties of transferring her own license from Indiana to Illinois--including the absurd requirement to sit for the SAT exam in her thirties! Then we talk through the fascinating and complex world of introducing bills to lawmakers. Jordan gives information for the upcoming listening session on September 15th being held by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) calling for parents, students, educators, and child development specialists to share their concerns about screens in schools. Helen closes with a story about how her bracelet-making fundraiser was included in the local newspaper with some possibly false details. Find Helen on Substack at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  6. Sep 9

    EPISODE 52: Meta has to pay billions...now what?

    When you need to get some energy out, crank up the tunes (maybe even some Sesame Street hits) and dance! Or at least that is what these two Millennial Moms recommend. Jordan shares the final update to her community grant project: all of the screen-free activity bins are now out! Then we dive into all of the details of the recent Meta settlement. In case you didn’t see the news, Meta will be paying up to $17.1 billion to forty-eight states over the next ten years and will be making several platform changes to improve safety and mental health for users under eighteen. Fun fact: $17.1 billion is a lot of money...unless you are Meta and that is only 1.16% of your $1.47 trillion current total value. Some of the settlement is dependent upon whether or not other social media companies (Snap, TikTok, and YouTube) reach a financial settlement with states and agree to implement platform changes as well. Helen and Jordan wish that some of the changes Meta has agreed to, such as only seeing accounts you follow in your feed, were available for all accounts, not just teens. The settlement money is going to divided between the states to fund youth mental health supports and education. Jordan shares a non-tech-funded/-influenced (unlike Common Sense Media) digital literacy resource: ScreenStrong: Kids’ Brains & Screens. We then talk about the global impact and crises that Meta has contributed to across the world. Helen tries to close with a profound thought, but her internet had some other ideas. Find Helen on Substack at⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  7. Aug 27

    EPISODE 51: A Grab Bag of Millennial Mom Thoughts

    Sometimes when one of the Millennial Moms has her basement flood for multiple days, you plan nothing for your episode and instead go for a “grab bag” of topics. Turns out that works out great because we got to talk about a variety of important and interesting things! Jordan shares about several upcoming webinars for parents, educators, or literally anyone--all shared on the ever-growing Google doc. Two of the webinars will feature Natasha Singer, who has a new book, Coding Kids, releasing on September 8th. We then dive into Singer’s latest New York Times article, “How Big Tech Captured American Schools.” This creates some discussion about what is school actually for when the tech industry influences so many aspects of education. We then talk through what happens when a digital product company like Google makes a change to their product and how that impacts users. Helen shares her classroom technology policy for this semester in her role as the Clinical Coordinator for the English Education program at Illinois State University where she teaches future teachers. Helen teaches Jordan there is a version of Instagram you can pay a monthly fee for, and Jordan thinks it is ridiculous...because it is. This, of course, leads to Jordan sharing all about the purse obsession she had in her younger days with the designer Paul Frank. Helen’s purse style has been (and always will be) thanks to Kohl’s. Find Helen on Substack at⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Listen to Helen's friends on Go Kvetch! Join Jordan in⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  8. Aug 24

    EPISODE 50: Hey baby, we're fifty!

    We kick, we stretch, and we kick because this is our FIFTIETH episode! Helen shares how she made it out safely from a scary storm, and Jordan has been busy baking treats. Helen then promises that when our podcast gets seven (or more!) reviews, she will share an incredible first-day-of-seventh-grade story. Jordan gives details about The UnPluggEd Project meant for schools and families to embrace and lean into human connections and away from the distractions of technology in October. She also shares about the Pledge to Protect Human-Centered Education that Illinois Families for Public Schools is asking Chicago Public Schools board candidates to sign. We then dive into the world of tech monitoring devices for babies and how they normalize surveillance and tracking in our day-to-day lives. We talk about how these baby tracking devices are often marketed to stressed-out, anxious, and fearful new parents as a way to “help” bring peace of mind. We talk about the devices and apps we did use in our early days of motherhood and how we feel about them now. Our conversation was sparked by a recent New York Times article, “Aw, It’s Baby’s First A.I. Surveillance System.” We question the long-term implications of being constantly tracked. Jordan points out a part from the article where one of the companies claims that infant sleep data might be interesting to future pro-athletes and how ridiculous that sounds.

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5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Two millennial moms...sharing some thoughts. As parents and as education professionals, we discuss our past, present, and future relationships with changing technologies. We're interested in how it impacts ourselves, our students, and our kiddos, and we're learning how to advocate for the issues we care most about.

Information

  • Creator
    Jordan Spicklemire and Helen Plevka-Jones
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jordan Spicklemire and Helen Plevka-Jones
  • Show Website
    Millennial Mom Thoughts

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