Childhood in a Quantum Age

Nina Jane Patel is a movement psychotherapist, researcher, and mother of four whose work bridges clinical practice, academic inquiry, and international advocacy. With more than two decades of experience, she has supported children and families across schools, healthcare settings, and prisons, helping them build resilience and navigate complex developmental challenges. She also works directly with families affected by trauma related to digital harms, offering strategies for healing and adaptation in an era of rapid technological change. Her academic research investigates how immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, and emerging quantum innovations are reshaping childhood, identity, and mental health. As the founder of My Guardian Global, Nina integrates therapeutic insight, systems thinking, and technological literacy to help families and institutions prepare for the future of human development. Nina serves as an advisor to the UK’s Child Online Harms Policy Think Tank at the University of East London (UEL), a subject matter expert for the Zero Abuse Project (US), and lead advisor for the Virtual Reality Risks Against Children (UK) initiative. She collaborates with the World Economic Forum and Interpol on issues of child safety in digital environments, and her work is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. She also contributes to Yves Saint Laurent/L’Oréal’s Abuse Is Not Love campaign, bringing her expertise in trauma, safety, and technology facilitated violence to global conversations on gender based violence. Her insights have been featured widely in global media, including NBC News, CNN, BBC, The Washington Post, Elle, and Vogue. A frequent speaker at international conferences on technology, Nina writes from both professional expertise and lived experience as a parent. She offers caregivers, educators, and policymakers a framework for equipping children to thrive in a world of profound technological transformation.