Nicole Pensak PhD, PMH-C Mental Health Consultant + Mom of 2

The Balance Project

Clinical Psychologist and Author of RATTLED. Academic Research Background in Health Behavior Change (e.g., exercise, smoking cessation, alcohol usage, substance abuse, healthy diet, HPV vaccination uptake, intervention development and dissemination).

Passionate about helping to provide parents with a framework and move away from the “free-for-all”.

We’re here to help communities and families find and maintain a balance of real-world experiences and technology.

We believe in the power and potential of technology AND we know that when it is overused, it brings a whole new host of challenges into our lives. And much like anything in life, when overdone, the negative impacts begin to outweigh the positives and need to be brought back into harmony.

In 2024, Americans spent ~75% of their waking hours on a screen, with children raising that average significantly. In addition to the opportunity cost of that time spent, we now know that this behavior does not bode well for our children's mental health or development. They are missing out on real-life experiences and developmental building blocks in favor of passive (sometimes harmful) content and (sometimes addictive) technology. The pendulum has swung too far and we need to work together to swing it back!

That’s why we have started The Balance Project: To mobilize a collective effort to get closer to this optimal balance with kindness, openness and a collective mantra, “to do the best we can with what we know”. Our hope is that we can work together to find a realistic, sustainable “sweet spot” of screen-life and real-life that allows our children, our families and our communities to thrive in our ever-evolving modern society.

At The Balance Project, we have an approach that’s rooted in behavioral science, a clear process for bringing stakeholders on the journey and a suite of tools and activations that can help implement a sustainable behavior change (with more on the way!). Feel free to click around and learn more about us — and feel free to reach out if you’d like to learn more about starting a Balance Project chapter in your community.