Tips for Managing Your Child’s Screen Time

Your child’s personality is a direct reflection of genetic predispositions and the environment they are immersed in. Their subjective reality is based on all the experiences they have within their life. The old saying, “Monkey see, monkey do” is the exact relationship very young children have with their parents. This is why it is so crucial for you as the parent to first form healthy technological habits and limit screen time for yourself first to act as their role model. If your child sees that the first thing you do in the morning is spend an hour on your tablet, or you always leave the television playing in the background, your child will do the same. Try to set a good example and limit your own device usage.

Experts say it is best practice to keep digital tech out of a child’s bedroom, so feel free to set limits on where they can use possible mobile devices or tablets. Keeping your child’s screen time in a common area will allow you to monitor their time spent browsing or playing games and see what they are viewing. Consider the dining room a place free from technology to allow your family to enjoy a meal together and each other’s company. The dinner table can be the best for stimulating conversations and having your child practice his or her social skills, not for browsing.

As mentioned, supper time is a wonderful time to unplug and appreciate your family, learn about each other, and bond. In addition, an hour of screen-free downtime before bed will help everyone in your household unwind from the day and acts as a mental primer for a good sleep. Blue light from our devices prevents the production of melatonin, a natural hormone in our body that allows us to fall asleep with ease. Try to keep an hour before bedtime tech-free and help your body stay on its natural circadian rhythm, ensuring you can fall asleep soundly and wake up feeling rested.

The Wireless Routers offered with Xplore offer parental controls to limit online usage and block potentially harmful websites and content. Setting up parental controls can allow you to monitor what your child is viewing online and keep them safe from malicious activity and adult content. Ensure your children’s online safety through proper supervision and limiting their access to only age appropriate and kid friendly digital media.

Encouraging your children to do activities that are offline and away from the digital screen is another tip. Participating in after-school sports or art classes can be in more ways stimulating for your child than the sedentary online world. While most kids are naturally drawn to dress-up boxes and playing outside, these activities can be promoted by you as the parent as the better alternative to screen time. These practices let your kid be a kid, help them develop motor skills and general life skills, and will enhance their lives, making for great memories when they are your age.

While we all look back fondly on Saturday morning cartoon viewings and the nostalgia of early social media from our own youth, we know there can be too much of a good thing. Empowering our children to become a generation of “doers” instead of “watchers” in front of a screen is an exciting prospect! Some believe culture is best when it is being created and not solely consumed. Don’t let yourself or your children feel like you are on the periphery of the human experience. Try setting down the phones, stowing away the laptops and powering down the TV. Enjoy letting your child engage in fun physical activity at the playground, explore their own dreams, and stimulate the most important tool in their psychological tote bag– their imagination.