We all want to raise healthy, happy kids. One part of doing that is ensuring you’re not overindulging them with screen time. Between smartphones, tablets, and computers, it’s easy to give kids more screen time than they should. It might even be affecting their behavior. Fortunately, there are easy things you can do to control the amount of screen time they’re getting.
Parenting Tips to Reduce Screen Time
The importance of setting limits and sticking to them is the cornerstone of parenting. But setting limits involves more than simply establishing rules and expecting children to follow them. The strategy you employ is just as important as what you say. It’s how you communicate when it comes to setting limits.
Parents often try to minimize their screen time when kids get addicted to smartphones or tablets. But how can you do that without cutting them off from the internet and computers entirely? Many parents have found parental control apps for children and teens are the key to managing screen time. These apps provide step-by-step instructions and handy graphs to help you set healthy limits, block certain apps, and track your teens’ activity. Most of them work on Android and Apple platforms, so you can monitor your kids’ devices whether they’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
It’s normal to expect children to spend time on screens, but you may want to monitor your tween or teen’s online usage. Set up a regular schedule for your child’s screen time, then monitor what your child is doing, suggests the American Academy of Pediatrics. Keep the computer in a shared area of your home, limit your child to one or two hours of screen time per day, and set consequences for breaking the screen time rules.
If you are concerned about how much time your kids are spending in front of screens, you’re not alone. Children in the U.S. spend an average of seven hours a day on entertainment media—not including schoolwork. While entertainment media can help you relax, unplug, and recharge, too much screen time can hinder healthy development.
As parents, we obsess over every cough, sneeze, and fever. Imagine what that feels like when your 5-year-old hits pause on Fortnite so that she can check her fever. Being a parent today means constantly managing notifications, screen time, and everything your kids do online. Of course, you want your kids to be safe online, but there are also downsides to over-parenting and stressing about screen time.
What is the Important of Parenting Tips to Reduce Screen Time
Many parents are concerned about too much screen time’s impact on their children. Parenting tips to reduce screen time are an important topic. Children who spend too much time looking at a screen may have trouble sleeping, difficulty learning, and problems interacting with their peers. Sometimes, kids even exhibit dangerous behavior, such as driving while distracted because of screen time. Parents can take steps to reduce screen time, such as setting screen time limits, setting a good example by limiting their own screen time, and taking breaks when screen time use becomes excessive.
With the increasing usage of smartphones and the development and use of apps, people’s dependence on devices is rising. Not only children but parents are also using smartphones and tablets a lot. With that, parents are often worried about what their child is doing with the phone. And for a good reason, as overusing screen time can have a negative impact on your children’s mental and physical development.
Most parents know to limit screen time for their children. Kids use electronic devices often when watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the web. Of course, that can pose a problem—it’s all too easy for kids to fall into a research black hole while surfing the web. And as a parent, you worry.
As parents, we have lots of worries about our children. The one I see most often is screen time. It’s understandable why it’s an issue. I myself suffer from screen addiction. I’m literally writing this post on my phone while my toddler pulls at my pants. The terrible thing is that my screen addiction has a negative impact on my family life.