Young Brains, Big Questions: Parenting for Digital Thriving in the Early Years

Erin Walsh is co-founder of Spark & Stitch Institute and author of It’s Their World: Teens, Screens, and the Science of Adolescence (Free Spirit Publishing). She has worked with communities across the country who want to better understand child and adolescent development and cut through conflicting information about kids and technology. Her signature down-to-earth approach and sense of humor helps families and educators engage in complicated topics and leave feeling capable and motivated.

Erin has enjoyed bringing science and strategies to families and educators alongside her father Dr. David Walsh for nearly 20 years. They started together at the National Institute on Media and the Family before creating Spark & Stitch Institute in 2019. She co-authored the 10th Anniversary Edition of the national bestseller Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen. 

Before creating Spark & Stitch Institute, Erin taught undergraduate students for nine years with the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs and was a lead program facilitator for Youth Frontiers. Her work has been featured in local publications across the country as well as the Washington Post, Edutopia, Minnesota Public Radio,  Star Tribune, Parents.com. Erin has served several community organizations, including as a professional mentor for NextGen Connect at Fairplay, an intergenerational mentoring program for youth digital wellness leaders, and as board chair of YMCA Camp Widjiwagan, a wilderness-based youth development program. She has worked with schools, school districts, parent groups, and other youth-serving organizations throughout North America on issues related to digital media, children, and youth. She lives in Minneapolis, MN with her wife, two kids, and husky.