8 Tips to Help Limit Children’s Screen Time
In today's digitally immersed world, managing screen time for kids has become a crucial challenge for parents and caregivers. As children increasingly engage with technology for education, entertainment, and communication, finding the right balance between screen time and other activities is essential for their overall well-being.
Evaluating your kid’s screen time
When you're trying to figure out how much screen time is right for your child, the Australian national guideline can help point you in the right direction. The Australian Institute of Family Studies, for instance, provides recommendations such as no screen time for children under two, a maximum of one hour per day for children aged 2–5 years, and up to two hours of sedentary recreational screen time per day for children and young people aged 5–17 years.
It is also worth asking yourself the following questions to assess if your kids are spending too much time in front of a screen:
- Is my child getting enough sleep?
- Is my child staying physically and emotionally healthy?
- Is my child connecting with family and friends, both online and in real life?
If you have reached the conclusion that your child is spending too much time in front of a screen, here are 8 ways to ace screen time management in your home.
1. Turn off or lessen time on devices
Switch your child’s – and you own – screens off and put devices away so kids aren’t tempted when they’re bored. You can reduce screen time by bringing toys or books when you’re out and about, to give kids instead of a device.
“Being a good role model with how parents use screens is a positive way to guide a child’s behaviour when it comes to screen time use,” Associate Professor, Julie Green, Executive Director at raisingchildren.net.au reveals.
2. Get kids up or moving instead of screen time
Limit screen time by arranging screen-free activities for kids and plan things like games, sport and craft. Even ban screens on the odd day altogether and do something fun as a family.
“It’s important that screen time doesn’t take the place of activities like physical play, reading, creative play like drawing, and social time with family and friends,” Professor Green stresses. “Real-life interactions with others are much better for your child’s wellbeing, learning and development.”
3. Talk to your kids about screen time
Explain why too much screen time can be bad for them and cyber safety to older children. Encourage them to make good choices when watching video, gaming, using social media and surfing the web.
“I monitor sites to enable discussions,” explains Amber, mum to an 11 and 13 year old in Sydney’s North West. “We've had many interesting chats relating to search terms and sites visited, as well as the morals and ethics behind these types of topics.”
4. Have screen-friendly home zones
Keep screen use mostly to common areas and limit screen time at the dinner table and in bedrooms (if at all). “Some families find it useful to have a charging station in a central point of the home to keep screens out of bedrooms at night,” Professor Green adds.
Make sure screens are switched off by a certain hour to avoid disrupting sleep and help kids stay cyber-safe. “Think about where kids use devices... families should enforce no-go tech zones such as bedrooms, meal and play areas,” tells digital and wellbeing expert, Dr Kristy Goodwin.
5. Set screen times limits
Talk to your child and agree on a daily screen time limit, plus make it a reward after homework is done.
“I do expect that homework and chores are done before screen time... I teach my teenagers about priorities and self-management,” agrees working mum Amber.
Set screen-free periods and talk about your day instead. “Consider when they’re using devices – before school and sleep time can be problematic,” Dr Goodwin notes.
6. Use parental controls on devices
Use pre-installed settings and apps to help manage your child’s screen time, as well as monitor what they’re doing on devices and keep content age-appropriate.
7. screen-free days
The ACT Government recommends choosing one or two screen-free days a week.
You could choose one or two days a week when your children have after school activities to keep them entertained. Another option is to think of some fun screen-free activities you can do with your kids on screen-free days.
8. Make screen time quality time
You could also seek out interactive screen-time options, such as puzzles, games and apps that the whole family can enjoy. This way screen time can be educational or a way to spend quality time together.
Sources:
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/screen-time
https://aifs.gov.au/resources/short-articles/too-much-time-screens
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