January 2026 {View as Webpage}

AUSTRALIA LEADS IN PROTECTING KIDS ONLINE

By now, you have probably heard the news that Australia passed legislation to protect children online. They must now be at least 16 years old to create a social media account, and media companies will need to delete accounts of underage children. This ban applies to the platforms Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok, X, Threads, YouTube, Kick and Twitch.

Find out more about the online changes in Australia>>

This groundbreaking legislation is sure to lead the way for other countries to work on similar protections for children, including Canada. Unplugged Canada (the organization that helped inspire Unplugged Bialik), is lobbying for similar laws to protect children in Nova Scotia.

Unplugged Bialik is doing its part within our school community to protect our students from the negative impacts of smartphones and social media. There's a lot going on here: the many conversations Unplugged Bialik ambassadors are having with parents, the expert speakers we are bringing in to the school, and the work the school is doing on the intentional use of technology in the classrooms are all adding up, we hope, to giving our kids a safe and play-based childhood.

Join us by attending our next parent speaker evening with Jacob Ernst (see below) and signing the Unplugged Bialik Pledge.

Feel free to speak to our parent ambassadors. Their email addresses are in the Bialik Parents Only section of the website, so don't hesitate to reach out.

Co-Chairs Brie and Jeffrey Kimel and the Unplugged Bialik Parent Ambassadors

Upcoming Parent Speaker: Jacob Ernst

Join us for an engaging parent talk with Jacob Ernst, Clinical Director of Straight Up Health, exploring how screens and technology impact our children’s social and emotional development. Learn practical, research-informed strategies to build social resilience, strengthen connections, and support your child’s well-being in today’s digital world.

Viewmount Branch: Thursday, March 5

Himel Branch: Monday, March 23

This event is free of charge, but registration is required>>

• Watch Jacob on CityLine, talking to teens about the their experience of social media.
• See his podcast This Isn't Therapy on YouTube
• Jacob's Substack, Just Trying to Help
• Follow on Instagram @mswjake

SD FAMILY WATCH PARTY

These five movies are great conversation starters for families!

Senior Division parents, we recommend that you watch these five films together with your children:

• The Social Dilemma, Netflix
• Childhood 2, Amazon Prime
• Screened Out, Amazon Prime
• Disconnected, Amazon Prime
• Plugged In, Common Sense Media, YouTube

RESOURCES

Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price have just published an optimistic, action-packed book for kids aged 9-12, The Amazing Generation: Your guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World. The book brings the message to young people that they can build a life free from smartphone addiction. Grounded in research — with illustrations, sidebars and a graphic novel — the book encourages kids to build in-person social relationships. It promotes questioning and conversations, including between children and their parents.

OUR FAMILIES ARE LOVING LANDLINES

Our families are loving the Tin Can landline phone for their kids! It's a modern take on the landline that allows kids to keep in contact with their friends as well as have conversations with their grandparents. Thank you to Tin Can for giving Bialik families the discount code below.

For more options, head to our website at smartphone alternatives.

Bialik Hebrew Day School | T: 416-783-3346| F: 416-785-8287 | communications@bialik.ca | bialik.ca

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