Can screen time for kids be a positive experience? 📲 When you give parents activities to learn alongside their kids, it can be! This week we interview Chris Ovitz and Dr. Colleen Russo Johnson, two of the co-founders of the new OK Play App. The startup team created the app to connect children and families through play, and it has produced a learning experience for parents to help kids learn social & emotional skills and more.
Bricia and Paulina are personally big fans of the app. As parents with kids stuck at home all day in this quarantine, we’re always looking for new games, shows, and activities to keep our kids entertained and occupied. The best thing about the OK Play app is that it encourages parents to engage in play and learning with our kids. Together we are doing fun activities, like building a golf course like Bricia and Eddie made in the video below, but we’re also learning, communicating, and bonding through fun . Who knew play would be such serious work?
Super Mamas listeners can get a 90 day free trial of the app by visiting okplay.app/supermamas. Happy playing!
More about Co-founder and Chief Scientist, Dr. Colleen Russo Johnson: Dr. Colleen Russo Johnson is a developmental psychologist with an expertise in children's media and technology who serves as an adjunct professor at Ryerson University and Co-Director of the Ryerson Children’s Media Lab. She is a senior scholar for UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers and co-author of bestselling children's book, Dino Dana: Dino Field Guide. Colleen previously served as director of research at Sinking Ship Entertainment. Colleen is passionate about disseminating relevant research to parents, teachers, and the children's tech & media industry. She holds a PhD from Vanderbilt University as a National Science Foundation graduate student fellow and now lives in Toronto. She is the proud mom of two dogs and two toddlers, Ripley and Rex.
More about Co-founder and President, Chris Ovitz: Chris Ovitz is a serial tech entrepreneur who has built and advised companies that are inspired by his childhood love of gaming and that expand the possibilities of mobile. Prior to OK, Chris co-founded Workpop (acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand ), which reimagined the job seeking experience for essential workers. In 2011, he co-founded Viddy, a pioneering social mobile video platform that grew to over 70 million users and was acquired by Fullscreen . He led business development and strategy for Scopely and Adly and has served as an advisor to Code.org and Box . Chris is also an active angel investor in companies like Beyond Meat (Nasdaq: BYND), Block Renovation, Songza (acquired by Google), and Seismic Games (acquired by Niantic). Chris is a member of Vanity Fair’s “Next Establishment List” and graduated from UCLA with a BA in History. Chris' single greatest achievement is becoming a dad to his son, Pax.
About OK Play: OK Play is a first-of-its-kind app that sparks creation, conversation, and connection between parents and their children. Through fun activities that are interactive and encourage social and emotional growth, OK Play helps families establish a daily practice of bonding and sharing together. The app was made by parents and entrepreneurs at The OK Company, an LA-based media and technology startup whose mission is to help families be OK with exactly where they are right now. Join OK Play for free at www.okplay.co.
Parenting Gems 💎 from this Week’s episode
The academic stuff is important but it’s a balance. Play is serious work. - Chris Ovitz
There is no perfect parent, and anyone who is trying to pretend to be perfect in their parenting is doing a disservice to their child. - Dr. Colleen Russo Johnson
Links
Follow @OKPlay on Instagram and Twitter.
Download the app in the App Store or get it on Google Play.
Super Mamas listeners can get a 90 day free trial of the app by visiting okplay.app/supermamas.
Watch Dino Dana and Annedroids on Amazon Prime, Odd Squad on PBS, and Endlings on Hulu.
