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“Mom, it’s starting!” My 14-year-old daughter, Lily, calls out from the couch, snuggled up with our dog under a massive blanket, a routine she’s embraced during the past year.
Television wasn’t always such a staple in her life, but then the pandemic hit. My husband lost his job, and our son, a college junior, along with Lily, a high school freshman, came back home while our youngest wrapped up seventh grade via Zoom. In those early, disorienting months, we tossed out the usual rules. TV became our family’s shared escape.
At first, I resisted the increased screen time. Growing up, television was a rare treat; my childhood set was a tiny, colorless box in a chilly room, and we gathered around it like it was a campfire. Books were my true escape. By five, I’d already discovered the joy of losing myself in stories, forgetting reality for hours.
Although my husband and I had different views on screen time, we agreed on the science: limited educational TV can boost cognitive skills, while excessive viewing correlates with lower adult I.Q. As parents, our takeaway was clear—other than shows like “Sesame Street,” screens should be limited.
Even today, we only have one TV at home, and our gaming gear consists of a dusty Wii. Typically, weeknights were reserved for homework and family dinners. Weekend viewing was family-friendly, ensuring our youngest could join in.
Fast forward to 2019. We started watching shows during dinner, devouring entire seasons of “The Office” and “Freaks and Geeks” alongside comforting meals. The dog cozied up on the couch as I wrestled with concerns about too much screen time. My husband reassured me with a study from the NIH, suggesting that while screen time has its downsides, it doesn’t have to be entirely negative.
Nevertheless, my worries grew, especially regarding Lily. As the older two returned to college, she remained home, attending school from her bedroom, with drawn shades and a turned-off camera. Though her grades were decent, she dropped her beloved electives, including music. For the first time, Lily was failing a class. “Walking for Fitness” had replaced traditional gym, and she refused to step outside.
Despite our attempts to boost her vitamin D, her complexion grew pale. She wore the same hoodie daily, dark eyeliner framing her eyes, while clothes piled up on the floor and dishes sat abandoned on her bedside table. This wasn’t typical teenage rebellion; in a chaotic world, she was asserting her limited autonomy.
I knew I shouldn’t try to fix her problems, but the statistics haunted me: in 2018, suicide was the second leading cause of death for kids ages 10 to 14. While I didn’t believe Lily was suicidal, I worried her self-neglect could lead to self-harm. Reports indicated that around 20% of American teens are depressed, with up to 30% of adolescent girls self-harming. Once, while she slept, I checked her arms for scars—thankfully, there were none.
Experts advised empathetic communication, yet Lily wouldn’t talk to me or a therapist. Attempts to encourage her to socialize only sparked anxiety. I believed if she could just take better care of herself, she’d feel better, so I nagged her about her lifestyle—hours spent on TikTok instead of outside. This led to many arguments.
Then, a few weeks ago, we stumbled upon “Stranger Things.” Well, I discovered it; Lily had already binge-watched the first three seasons. As a rule, I avoid stories about missing children, but she wanted to recap for the new season, asking me to join her.
With her dad back at work, we settled on the couch, consuming 25 episodes in a week. While I won’t spoil the plot, it follows a group of kids facing supernatural threats to their friends, family, and community. As the seasons progressed, the characters’ appearances changed, mirroring Lily’s transformation over the past year.
Like a portal to the “Upside Down,” the show created a bridge to connect with Lily’s world. I realized that spending those hours together wasn’t so bad. Gripped by a storyline of a community grappling with a plague, we found common ground. Side by side, we discussed everything from first crushes to the parallels of the show’s contagion and the real-life pandemic. And, after months of emotional distance, the tense scenes gave me a reason to hold her close.
It didn’t happen instantly, but that week marked a turning point. I started to ease my worries about Lily in her dark room; she began opening the shades, agreeing to masked outdoor hangouts with friends and even sharing her music playlist in the car.
With the new teaser for “Stranger Things” out, we’re eagerly awaiting season four. Because ultimately, the heroes always prevail—and right now, those are the kinds of odds we need.
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Summary
Watching “Stranger Things” with my daughter became a bonding experience during a challenging time. As we navigated the struggles of the pandemic together, the show provided a therapeutic escape that rekindled our connection, ultimately leading to positive changes in her life.