5 Tactics To Make Screen Time Work For You And Your Family

Screen time can be something of a trigger phrase for parents. After all, millions of articles online warn of the dangers of too much of the stuff on our kids. Of course, if we keep our children isolated from the online world completely we will also be doing them a disadvantage in today’s society. That is why it’s so important to come up with a screen time strategy that truly works for you and your family. Luckily, you can read all about how to do this below. 

Achieve a screen time balance

Hard and fast rules are not the name of the game here. Instead, it’s all about setting out and reinforcing particular priorities in your kids. For example, instead of emphasizing that screen time should be reduced to 1- 2 hours for children, it’s better to highlight the importance of good sleep and outdoor exercise. These being activities that necessitate a reduction in the time they spend in front of a screen.

Of course, it is useful to know the rough maximum amount of time your child should be spending online each day. For teenagers, it’s closer to two hours. While for younger children a maxim of a single hour can be better. Many experts suggest that for those under 2 years old no screen time is ideal. Although whether this is realistic or not will depend on personal circumstances.

All screen time is not equal

When it comes to managing screen time, it’s important to note that not all of it is created equally. For example, spending time on educational sites or games can be a very useful tool for your child’s development. Additionally spending time online with friends can be essential to their wellbeing, especially when we are living a much more socially restricted life due to Covid.

However, endless social media and YouTube can do more harm than good. Especially if the content your child is being exposed to isn’t as positive as you would like. After all, even the most basic of social media sites invite unrealistic comparisons and can provide access to age-inappropriate content.

Take an active approach to the content your kids view online.

While we are on the subject of inappropriate content, you must take control of what your children view online. After all, while there is much content created specifically for kids, there is also stuff that is wholly inappropriate for those under 18.

One way to do this is to make sure your kids always use their device in the family space, something that makes it much easier for you to monitor what they are watching and reading.

For an extra layer of security, you can monitor the sites that your child is accessing. In fact, providers like Family Orbit frequently offer a free trial of their services which includes the ability for parents to track their child’s online history, websites visited, text messages, photos, and even their current or previous locations. Which, of course, can help to make sure your children aren’t accessing stuff that will upset them, disturb them, or put their safety at risk.

Set boundaries and be consistent

Limits and boundaries are good news for kids, even if they do sometimes buck against them. Happily, you can make setting screen time boundaries much easier by taking the time to explain to your child why you are putting them in place. Indeed, if they understand that such rules are put in place for their wellbeing they are much more likely to stick to them, and not to get into arguments about them later on.

Of course, for such boundaries to genuinely work, you will need to be consistent. What this means is that if you set down a rule, you have to follow through. That means whether you are in the mood to do so or not, and whether your child is being calm and compliant or not.

Yes, your kids will likely test these boundaries at some point and see how much they can get away with. However, when it comes to screen time it is precisely when you need to be the most consistent, rather than buckling at the first hurdle.

Screen time can be a family activity

When it comes to making screen time work for you as a family it’s vital to remember that it can be an activity for everyone to do together. In fact by making screen time something that you all do as a family you can ensure it is better controlled and much safer for everyone involved as well.

Of course, that does mean that you may need to pick up an interest in the latest online games, or sites. Although there are plenty of fun online activities that families can do together from live Zoom escape rooms to planning your next vacation, to online scavenger hunts.

Be mindful of the signs of too much screen time

Lastly, to make sure that screen time works effectively for your family, you need to know and watch out for the signs of overuse. Remember, balance is the key world here, and when screen time starts to get in the way of other important things in your child’s life it may be time to start cutting it back.

For example, one child may spend an hour a day playing an online game like Fortnight with their friends. However, they also take the time to complete their schoolwork, chores, exercise outside, and get a good night’s sleep. Therefore they are likely to have a good screen time balance. However, if this hour means that they are cutting down on these other activities, for example, they are going to bed an hour later, then it may be too much for them.

Of course, it’s always better to have an open dialogue with your child about such issues rather than enforcing changes in screen time without discussing it first. Indeed, if you can talk to them and help them to realize the negative effect that too much screen time is having, they are more likely to abide by your new rules. Also, it means that your child will be able to learn to regulate their own online behaviors much more effectively. The latter being a skill that will stand them in excellent stead not just during their childhood, but throughout their entire life.