• Michaeleen Doucleff, author of "Dopamine Kids," wanted to wean her daughter off screens.
• She said the key was to replace screens with activities that genuinely motivated and excited her daughter.
• She also cut back on buying ultra-processed foods by having her daughter bake cookies from scratch.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michaeleen Doucleff, the author of "Hunt, Gather, Parent" and "Dopamine Kids," released on March 3. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

Around the time my daughter, Rosy, was 4, we went to the beach. It was a really beautiful, sunny day, and I realized I couldn't enjoy it. She was having a great time building a sandcastle; I was sitting there checking my email, texts, and social media.

I felt this little hum of anxiety. Was she going to grow up without me being able to enjoy our lives together?

I started examining my own relationship to dopamine, the brain systems involved in reward and motivation, whether it is related to screens or ultra-processed foods. I realized that for me, these products were reclaiming the pleasure in our lives.

My life started to change when I set limits on screen time and processed snacks, swapping them for other activities and whole foods.

Then I wanted to help Rosy, who was 8 at the time.

I learned that a lot of the advice out there didn't work for me because it was based on research from 20 to 40 years ago. I kept trying things that I would read in parenting books, like "let children be bored." If I told Rosy to go to her room and play without screens, I'd just create a struggle. She'd crave screen time even more.

The truth is, parents are up against a lot. Apps, games, and ultra-processed foods are designed to keep us coming back. Research suggests that if parents don't have a clear mission for their families, it's much harder to keep impulses under control.

Luckily, research also suggests ways to change your child's relationship with screens. Here's how I got my daughter to swap them for activities that she enjoys.

I made a 'family dream list' to guide us

The first step is about taking back the wheel. That came with deciding what I wanted for my family. What was my dream?

Exploration is a fundamental need for my child, and I didn't want her to fulfill it with video games and social media. Instead, I wanted Rosy to enjoy being outside with her friends and going on adventures.

So one day, I said, "I'm going to teach you to do something you've been dying to do," which was riding a bike by herself to the market. We spent a few nights biking around everywhere until she felt comfortable on her own. Instead of watching YouTube videos of cartoon characters biking around, she could now do it herself.

Now that she's 10, biking is one of Rosy's favorite activities. She bikes to piano lessons and soccer practice. Sometimes, on Saturdays, she'll spend six hours biking with her friends, then come home exhausted and happy.

Leaning into her natural motivation

Dopamine plays a key role in motivation; it makes us seek out things that feel rewarding. To compete with screens, it helps to ride the motivational wave.

Once, we were in the cookie aisle of the grocery store. Rosy started begging for cookies because foods like that light up the brain's reward system. Instead of saying no to the cookies, I wanted to cultivate her desire to create a new habit.

I said, "OK, you can have the cookies, but you're going to bake the cookies all by yourself." I'd help her get started, and she learned how to use the mixer and oven.

When she finished baking the cookies, she ate only one or two. She wanted to save the rest because they were so precious to her. To this day, she's an amazing baker. A couple of months ago, she made a whole lasagna for dinner.

It turned out to be a great swap we made, both for cutting down on store-bought snacks and on screen time.

Micro-celebrations kept her going

The internet uses micro-celebrations: The little "ding" when you send a message, the hearts, the emojis. They seem very simple, and like they're not doing anything, but they're triggering a tiny bit of pleasure in our brains. It's the superglue that keeps us attached.

As a parent, I wanted to give Rosy similar micro-celebrations. When Rosy and I were first starting to bike around the neighborhood, every now and then I'd say, "Wow, this is really fun. I love this. This feels so good." It's just about sprinkling in a little bit of excitement.

Another really powerful micro-celebration parents can use is having the kid present what they made to you, whether it's a drawing or a craft. It creates an emotional payoff for the child, making them feel like they've done something important. It'll make them want to keep doing it more and more.

I set a price for screen time

Products like TVs and tablets are what I call "dopamine magnets"; they're incredibly hard to resist. We can't rely on willpower alone. Instead, we need very clear, simple rules that never change.

Almost every Saturday afternoon, Rosy would ask to watch a movie. Finally, I agreed, but with one new rule: She had to write a two-page summary of the last movie she watched, and present it to me.

At first, I was blown away. She ran to go do it — she was really willing to work to get this movie. Still, after a few times, she stopped asking for Saturday movies. She decided they weren't worth the price.

By then, we had other activities to replace the movie. On top of riding her bike, she was making a lot of crafts — embroidering, crocheting, and paper quilling.

Creating screen-free environments

What many people don't realize is that the pull happens before you use the device. Usually, there's some cue in your environment, such as the sight of your phone or the places you typically use it.

For example, a child might associate getting into the car with playing games on a tablet. Instead, you can change that to another activity. We bought a CD player for Rosy so she could listen to audiobooks on drives. It forces her to wait and listen to the book again, instead of us immediately buying a new one.

Without changing cues, parents may have to fight to pull their kids off screens or to police what they eat.

By using these behavioral principles, you can set up routines that help kids rely less on willpower alone. Over time, those pathways stick.

• I took my first Peloton cycling class ever — in person.
• Led by Jess King, the 30-minute workout flew by and felt like a party.
• Despite the popularity of its virtual classes, Peloton is finding other ways to grow its business.

Admittedly, I missed out on the pandemic-era Peloton hype.

Even though most of my friends couldn't fit the iconic exercise bikes into their cramped New York City apartments, they still enjoyed the perks of a membership.

They'd do audio-only classes and keep up with the brand's rising stars. By osmosis, I knew who Ally Love was, and that she was teaching a themed ride to celebrate her wedding.

Years later, Peloton has had to adjust to a changing market. It reopened its in-person classes in 2022, launched AI-powered coaching features, and recently announced the launch of commercial gym bikes and treadmills.

After a pandemic-era subscriber surge and subsequent slowdown in growth, Peloton worked to find new ways to compete with in-person gym offerings, while also dealing with direct at-home workout competitors like Echelon and Tonal.

Amanda Hill, Peloton's SVP of Global Content Strategy and Programming, told Business Insider that the brand plans to triple its in-person events in 2026, including collaborations with SXSW, F1, and the London Marathon.

"Human connection is an essential part of our magic formula," Hill said. "Stoking community fuels our strong membership retention."

So when I got an invite from Culturelle Probiotics to try an in-person cycling class with Jess King, their chief wellness ambassador, I was intrigued. Having never taken a Peloton class before, I was curious: Would the experience feel as dazzling to someone who hadn't developed an attachment to its instructors?

I was starstruck despite being unfamiliar with Peloton

Before the class, the group of journalists and wellness influencers received a brief tour of Peloton's facilities. It has the feel of a traditional gym and polished content operation — where small, in-person classes double as live broadcasts to its global subscriber base.

Located in the Hudson Yards neighborhood of Manhattan, the studio spanned two floors and was probably the most pristine gym I've ever been in.

We glimpsed into one production room for the brand's virtual yoga class, a lone mat in front of loads of film equipment.

I could imagine the excitement of someone who took years of Peloton classes — to them, this would be the equivalent of a Hollywood tour.

The class felt like a production, too. The lights were dimmed to a universally flattering purple, and a Peloton employee adjusted everyone's bikes and helped them lock their shoes to their pedals.

Before King, who's one of the brand's stand-out personalities, emerged, an announcer mentioned going on the "ride of our lives." I turned to the woman next to me, who blurted out exactly what I was thinking: "This is like Disney World."

While I'm personally used to a lot less fanfare in my fitness classes, the intentionality felt nice. This wasn't just another workout squeezed in between waking up and hustling to work. It was 30 minutes of intense cycling mixed with the brand's signature affirming energy.

Peloton fans who attend these classes typically register up to six weeks in advance. The ones visiting New York treat signing up similarly to getting rush tickets to Broadway, employing all the tricks to ensure they snag a spot to see their favorite Peloton stars.

It isn't a class: It's an event, after all.

The class flew by because it felt like a party

Never having taken a virtual class with King, who, before Peloton, was a professional dancer and even a finalist on "So You Think You Can Dance," I still felt like I was in the midst of a celebrity when she entered the stage in fully bedazzled cycling shoes.

King seamlessly walked us through how to adjust our bikes' resistance with the muscle memory of someone who's done this since 2014. She possessed the same charisma and discipline of a seasoned actor. King also emphasized letting go and having fun with her EDM soundtrack — a less common gym class instruction, in my experience.

The 30-minute class zoomed by. Even as a complete newbie, the gear was easy to use, and there was enough variety to keep the class neither too boring nor tediously challenging.

King's words of encouragement, delivered with the cadence of a fitness star, also helped everyone relax into the workout.

It was a well-oiled production, which, ironically, is what made it feel so organic and fun.

Peloton isn't building more studios anytime soon

That being said, at this time, the brand isn't investing in building more studios outside its existing ones in New York and London.

I can understand the move. As someone who's attended my fair share of classes at both luxury gym franchises and mom-and-pops, many have fallen into the same trap: wanting to make more money through rapid expansion at the expense of gym-goers.

Eventually, this can lead to more squished and precarious circumstances. Three people sharing a strength training station. Rushing to snatch the last pair of dumbbells that work for you. Suddenly, you feel less like a member and more like a body to stuff into a studio.

Peloton exploded in popularity because of its personalities and how safe they made their fans feel during an otherwise unstable time in their lives. I appreciate Peloton holding on to that magic like a card to its chest — even when it's tempting to just be like every other fitness brand.