As a single, working mom of 5, I understand the temptation to let TV, iPads, and other screens entertain my children. After all, dinner has to be made, the home picked up, preparations made for the daily care of my children, and errands run, not to mention that screen time can give me a few minutes of alone time. My children love Youtube tutorials and Subway Surfer as much as the next kid, but I know this is not the best use of their time. As their mother, it’s my responsibility to require them to turn off the screen and do something useful.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children aged 8-18 are spending an average of 7 hours a day on entertainment media. That number is shocking. Pediatricians encourage limiting screen time to 1-2 hours per day on quality content. Excessive media usage can lead to obesity, attention problems, sleep and eating disorders, as well as take away valuable time that can be spent interacting with family and friends.
Here are three strategies for limiting screen-time and encouraging a healthy lifestyle for our children.
1. Model limited use of screens
Children learn what they live.Therefore, parents must model the behavior that they want their children to imitate.If your children are constantly watching you scroll through Facebook, Instagram, and the internet, it’s only natural that they will do the same.If they can’t get our attention because we are distracted by our cell phones and tablets, we won’t have much of a leg to stand on when we tell them to turn off their screens.Can I encourage you to keep your phone put away during certain blocks of time that you are home with your children?I know our kids will love the extra love and attention that we give them during time that we would usually spend tinkering on our phones.
2. Provide alternate entertainment
Board games such as Sorry, Monopoly, and Connect Four can be a source of fun for our children.Games teach children how to be good sports, accept defeat, healthy competition, math skills, and how to strategize.Bikes, scooters, and nature walks provide much needed exercise and offer valuable opportunities to talk to our children and see what’s on their minds.The library is full of books that we can access for free to enlighten our children’s minds of the world around them.Set times up to visit the library on a consistent basis and there will be hours of screen-free entertainment at the ready.Of course, there will be times that we hear, “I’m bored.”In those times we must remember that letting our kids experience boredom encourages them to use their imaginations and problem solve.
3. Set up systems that serve them and you
When my children ask if they can watch TV or play on the iPad, I love to say, “Have you cleaned your room or did you do such-and-such chore?”This practice helps to keep our home clean and in so doing the children learn a good work ethic.Also, you can set up times that are completely screen free.For instance a house rule can be that there are no screens after dinner, or before they have read for a certain amount of time, or that they must check out devices or the remote from you.Another system to consider is rewarding them with screen time for doing chores, schoolwork, or good deeds.
Screen time can have both a positive and negative impact on our children. Let’s use them in a healthy way and see our children thrive in a media-driven world!
