From building apps to building boundaries: A Former Snapchat Executive’s Tips For Parents

Written By Guest User

By Sarah Gallagher Trombley

I joined Snapchat 8 years ago to help bring the magic of storytelling and journalism to the platform. I helped create content experiences that kept millions engaged. A few years into my tenure when the early conversations about parental controls at Snapchat began– it coincided with when my kids started to get interested in YouTube.  I came to a crossroads. I had strong ideas about what sort of safety I wanted in a social media platform because of my experiences as a parent. In short I wanted a lot of agency over the experience my children could have.  This was at odds with the less is more approach that Snapchat was taking.

My strong ideas ultimately steered towards a new career path. Today, I’m a digital parenting educator, speaker, and coach. I help families, schools, community groups become tech savvy parents. 

My mission is to help parents understand how technology products are designed—and how to protect their children’s time, attention, and mental health.

From building apps to building boundaries

During my years at Snapchat, I worked closely with product and policy teams on content guidelines, safety features, and early thinking around parental controls. That front‑row seat taught me three things that I want all parents to know

  • Most social apps were built for adults first, and kids were added later.

  • Safety features almost always arrive after growth, not before.

  • These platforms are designed to capture as much time and attention as possible, we are the product

Those insights and the knowledge I have acquired as a mom figuring all this out for my own kids inform the support I provide to families today. I have translated what I know into plain‑language workshops, practical frameworks, and everyday scripts parents can use to become knowledgeable and confident about the digital decisions they are making for their kids.

Digital education offerings for families and schools

I have built a broad set of offerings that are designed for real life: tired parents, overwhelmed educators, and kids who would always rather be on their phones than talking about them.

Here’s a quick overview of how I support families :

  • On‑demand parenting courses

  • Deep‑dives into topics that busy parents can watch on their own timeline, each broken into short videos including:

Moving beyond “basic” digital advice

You have probably heard advice like - “Set time limits”, “Delay the smartphone”, “Use parental controls”

Those ideas are foundational but parents need more specificity. They need answers to the “how.” 

Here’s my best advice to parents:

Tip #1 - Set up ALL the parental controls even if they aren’t enough

Parental controls are a pain and they often don’t do enough but really committing to using them sends a signal to the companies that they should be investing in improving them. And, even some parental controls are better than none. 

Tip #2 - Become BFF with your Router

Did you know that the router in your house has a setting that can allow you to filter content and set time limits across multiple devices? Get familiar with your router and see what's possible!

Tip #3 - Be the change you want to see 

So many of us are guilty of telling our kids to get off screens while not taking our own advice. Kids do not respond well to hypocrisy. And they’re right. Adults struggle with technology too. Being honest and accountable about your own technology use can go a long way toward building trust with your kids.

How to share these resources with your community

If you are reading this as a parent, feel free to forward this post to your school’s administration, PTA, or your local community group along with the resource links below. If you are an educator, a school leader or a community leader, you can:

  • Add the courses to your newsletter or website

  • Subscribe to and share my free parenting newsletter “Thoughts From A Digital Mom

  • tfadigitalmom.substack.com

  • Invite me to speak at a parent night or community event

Shareable resource links:

Raising kids in a hyper‑connected world is challenging, but you do not have to do it alone, and you certainly do not need to know every new app to be an effective digital parent. Stay informed, trust your instincts, keep the communication lines open and don’t be afraid to ask for help. You got this!

Sarah Gallagher Trombley is the founder of Digital Mom Media an education platform whose mission is to help parents navigate the digital world safely, for and with their children. 

The GDU community can purchase online courses at a discount with code UNPLUG25.

Guest User
Next

A Small Screen-Free Win From the Week