Hi, I’m Nick, founder of The Mindful Digital Collective.

Early in 2025, my daughter asked for a phone. She was in Year 6 at primary school, and all her friends were getting one. At that point, I genuinely didn’t know what to say.

By day, I work as a product designer. I’ve spent over 15 years working in and around technology, yet I still didn’t know what the right thing to do was.

Do I accept that technology is now part of everyday life, that childhood today looks very different from when I grew up, and step out of the way?
Or do I say no, and try to protect her from it for as long as possible?

I didn’t know the answer, and I’m sure I’m not the only parent who’s found themselves in this tricky position.

That uncertainty led me to run an after-school club at her school. The idea was to start talking to children about being online: what they need to be aware of, how to stay safe, and how to be kind. It was never meant to be a lesson where I stand at the front and talk at them. Instead, I wanted to use real-life scenarios, encourage discussion, and explore questions like: What would you do here? What feels right? How might someone else feel?

Since then, the sessions have expanded to cover topics such as AI, scams and fake news, financial literacy, the value of our attention, and the importance of empathy and kindness online - the life skills children need for the world they’re growing up in.

What I’ve learned from working with children, parents, and teachers is this: through open conversation and discussion, we build resilience in children. We give parents confidence to decide what feels right for their family. And when I work in schools, teachers really value having another voice reinforcing the messages they’re already teaching.

I love my job as a Product Designer, but I also love what this has allowed me to create. The chance to research, design, and run sessions that bring difficult topics to life, spark meaningful discussion, and help children build digital resilience, so they can shape the digital world they’re growing up in, rather than letting that world shape them.

Nick