Managing the Screen Time of kids

1
Managing the Screen Time of kids

• Cutting down the screen time of kids is a feat
  that most parents struggle to win! Especially,
  when the families are nuclear and parents are
  extremely busy balancing work and home, reducing
  the screen time of kids and substantiating that
  with quality time becomes a challenge.
• Lets start with some interesting data and facts
• 71 of parents in the U.S. with children under 12
  said they are concerned their child is spending
  too much time in front of a screen.
• 33 of teens spend more time socialising with
  close friends online rather than in-person
  interaction
• 89 of parents take responsibility for their
  childs cell phone usage.
• A survey conducted by ScienceDirect on children
  between 2 to 17 years old says that those who
  spend more than seven hours a day on screens are
  more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with
  depression or anxiety.

2

• According to The American Academy of Pediatrics
  and the Canadian Society of Pediatrics, here is
  the optimum screen time that should be allowed to
  kids according to their age
• 0-2 years no exposure to screen
• 3-5 years - one hour per day
• 6-18 years restricted to 2 hours per day
• What are some of the warning signs that your kids
  screen time has started taking a toll?
• The child will show the following changes in
  behaviour
• Avoiding to spend time with family
• Difficulty in concentrating when not using screen
• Showing aggression in sleep due to indulgence in
  gaming
• Declining grades in school
• Shrinking interest in friends and outdoor play
• Inability to retain information due to reliance
  in Google, GPS etc
• Watch a webinar on managing mental health of
  students, an initiative by GIIS.

As parents, what are some of the immediate steps
to manage or reduce the screen time of your
kids. Tips to manage screen time of kids Be the
example Children, especially the younger ones,
imitate their parents and siblings at home. So,
if your hands are always occupied either with
your mobile phone, tablet or TV remote, children
would get the signal that its the right way to
live. Avoid using screen during meal times, bed
time or other occasions when you are with family
and kids. Plan hobby time
3
Everyone in the family should allocate some time
to practice their hobbies, be it reading,
writing, playing board games, sports or cooking.
As a rule, no one should be using any gadget or
screen during this time. The mobile phones and
tablets should be tucked away and the focus
should be on recreation. Rely on tools to
control screen time There are various tools and
apps now a days that can help you track and
control the screen time of children. Using these
tools, you can set a screen time limit and also
the content that your child watches on internet.
Most of these tools also show the watching
bahaviour of your child and pinpoint to their
choice of content. Suggest interesting
alternatives Due to reliance on technology for
entertainment from a young age, kids are not used
to planning playtime or think of alternatives to
entertain themselves. Start suggesting them
interesting alternatives for their playtime that
they can enjoy instead of staying glued to
devices for entertainment. Originally published
here.