It is important that you set screen time guidelines early in your child’s life so that it lays a foundation for later behavior. Below is a set of suggested ways to create the right balance:
- Establish rules for using smartphones and tablets as you see fit. Create a personalized plan that highlights the rules of screen use and sets goals for the entire family.
- Create competitions between your children by comparing screen times.
- Suggest some barter deals where your child can get one hour of screen time in exchange for an hour reading or playing sports or doing house chores.
- You may set rules for times when using smartphones and tablets is not allowed such as:
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- Lunch and Dinner Times
- Car Rides
- While Outdoors
- At night or prevent use in the bedroom entirely
- You may use parental control apps in order to manage your kid’s screen use, block access to inappropriate sites and apps.
- Guide teens to always maintain appropriate online behavior.
- Make sure to not spend too much time on the phone/tablet when your child is around. Keep in mind that you are setting an example for digital use.
- Never resort to screens as a way of silencing young kids.
- Steer your child’s screen use towards educational material that can still be fun and recommend educational yet fun apps for your kids to use.
- Continuously encourage your child to socialize with others outside the screen not just digitally.
- Look for ways to encourage the entire family to be active. Schedule a physical activity each day in order to reduce the amount of time your child engages in sedentary activities.
- Spend more time with your kids engaging in outdoor play or indoor activities.
