Are your children spending too much time engaging with their tablets or smartphones? Although devices are part of our culture, you may be wondering how to balance their usage and reduce your family’s screen time. Here are some tips to help.
Pay attention to your own behavior.
If you have a habit of scrolling mindlessly, remember that your children constantly look to you for behavioral cues. Try to become conscious of your unconscious behaviors. If you want them to limit screen time, see if you can model that behavior yourself. Make sure you’re not sending the message, “Do as I say, but don’t do as I do.”
Make screen time a conscious choice.
Decide the time of day for your child’s screen time. Write the schedule on a family calendar for all to see. Set time limits – for instance, one hour of television a day or 30 minutes of play on their tablet. Visual timers are a great way for younger children to understand time constraints. Alternatively, an old-fashioned hour glass can be a fun way to measure time.
Practice mindful eating.
Consider making family meals a screen-free zone. You can even introduce your children to mindful eating, where they notice tastes, textures and flavors, paying attention to one bite at a time. They can also pay attention to the pace of their eating, noticing if they rush to eat the next mouthful before finishing the previous one. Mindful eating can be a fun practice, and one that engages the whole family.
Look for alternatives to screen time.
Intentionally choose activities that don’t involve screens. Take a mindful walk outside, as you listen to singing birds and rustling leaves. Go to the library and browse for interesting books to read. Play hide-and-seek with a favorite stuffed animal. Take out a big container of art supplies and allow your child’s creativity to blossom. Dance to a lively song. You can even brainstorm together and develop a list of activities that are fun and engaging. The possibilities are endless.
Seek like-minded parents.
In his book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt notes the harmful effects from social media and discusses steps to limit children’s screen time. He also discusses support networks that some parents have formed, as they share information and socialize their children in screen-free environments. Consider checking with your local PTA, community, religious or other organizations about whether they have this type of group, or whether they’d be open to forming one.
Finally, if you want to reduce your family’s screen time, it doesn’t have to be complicated. It just takes making a conscious choice and being intentional about your goals, for both you and your family. Note: For in-depth research on children’s media use, see Common Sense Media’s report.
Joy Rains is a corporate mindfulness trainer and author of Meditation Illuminated: Simple Ways to Manage Your Busy Mind. Learn more at joyrains.com.
Liam McCrickard holds a B.A. in creative and professional writing from Goucher College. He is former assistant editor at Washington Parent. He works as a freelance designer, writer and editor of tabletop role-playing games.
Joy Rains, author of the primer Meditation Illuminated: Simple Ways to Manage Your Busy Mind, discovered meditation in the mid-1980s. After decades of practice and inspired by meditation’s profound benefits, she completed an extensive Contemplative Leadership course and began teaching meditation in the community and workplace. Joy’s podcast, Mindful 180, helps people integrate mindful practices into their lives. www.joyrains.com
