In a world saturated with screens, understanding how to balance and manage your child’s screen time is crucial. This blog will explore practical strategies to monitor screen use, highlight its benefits, and suggest ways to encourage healthy screen habits.
Before considering the action steps to manage screen time , consider that screens have benefits, too. Want to get in contact with your kids? Text them. Want to plan a family trip? Make your reservations online. But how about getting your kids outside to play? First, they have to detach from their screens. It’s not easy, but parents can learn to manage their children’s screen time.
Here's a blog on guiding your child's use of screens and media.
Teach appropriate behaviour
With nearly 90 percent of cell phone users within arm’s reach of their cell phones 24 hours a day, screens are with us everywhere. "Adolescents now integrate online relationships and social media into their daily lives."
Experts suggest that it's OK for your teen to be a part of these worlds — as long as your child understands appropriate behaviour. Explain to your kids what they may and may not do online, such as engaging in sexting, cyberbullying, or sharing personal information. Teach your child not to send or share anything online that he or she would not want the entire world to see for eternity.
No matter how smart or mature you feel your child is, monitor his or her online and social media behaviour. Your child is bound to make mistakes using media. Talk to your child and help him or her learn from them.
Accept and embrace screens.
Screens are not going away, so it's best to view them as something that enrich your children’s lives. Having accepted the role of screens, it’s crucial to start guiding your children’s screen habits from a young age. Learn how to leverage screens to help your children do better in school, explore a wider range of activities and ideas, and be connected more deeply and regularly with family and friends. Become an expert on websites, videos, and online programs for learning and skill development.
Adults use their screens about nine hours daily, exactly the same amount as teenagers. Step back, take a look at your screen time, and learn to manage it before you try to model for your kids. One simple suggestion is to measure your screen-time use, with a tool such as “Apple Screen Time” or Google's “Family link.”
Start young
If your kids are already teenagers, it may be too late to cut back on-screen time. You may therefore need to focus on looking for ways to making it more productive for them instead of resisting it. However, treat screen time with young kids as if it were just another activity. Talk to them about it, engage with them during their screen time, and let them know you'll monitor them. Creating healthy and balanced family activities that go beyond screens can and should start at an early age.
Talk, teach, and take part in screen time
If you act and talk as if spending time on screen is bad for you or it’s always a high-calorie dessert rather than a nutritious dinner, your kids will learn to tune you out. Play games with them, join their social media feeds, and show them how you use your time on screen in your work.
Schedule or curate screen time.
Parents need to become more involved when kids routinely overdo screen time or engage in inappropriate screenplay. Scheduling access to recreational activities on screen works well for many families. Recommended amounts of time range from one to two hours of recreational time per day. Curating requires more involvement in working with your children to select games, sites, and online activities that fit your criteria.
Own and control technologies.
Require young children have permission to use games, computers, and devices belonging to the family. It is more difficult for tweens and teens. The simplest method could be to have all cell phones and online tools put away safely at a specified time, simultaneously with the Internet shut down at home. Your kids will probably stay off screens without Internet access and their phones.
Choose and use parental controls.
There are dozens of great tools for controlling your children’s access to technology. However, many teens and tweens know tricks for circumventing these. It is imperative that you keep your passwords secret and learn some other tricks to make these tools effective. Also, Are you aware of the apps your children use the most?
Conclusion
Just as we navigate other complexities of modern life, managing screen time requires informed decisions and proactive measures. By understanding the tools and strategies discussed, you can effectively guide your children towards a balanced digital lifestyle.”
What is important is that technology be used for career growth and betterment of life by children, which leaves great responsibility for parents in terms of reinforcing the right value system and being guides and friends in navigating their child’s path through the complex web of social media and screens.
