The Big Disconnect: Technology And Childhood Development

The digital age provides wonderful opportunities to connect, but also big challenges, particularly for parents and their children. Laptops and smartphones, texting, sexting and online social networking can take over.

That is according to clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair, who points out that kids from ages 8 to 18 spend almost 8 hours a day tethered to their electronics. Her new book spells out the risks of all this, and offers families practical advice about how to disconnect from their machines and reconnect with each other.

Catherine Steiner-Adair, a clinical psychologist and instructor at the Harvard Medical School. Her new book is called "The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age."