3 ways parents can lower kids’ screentime
83 percent of parents think the mental health of US children is worsening, survey finds National Survey on Child Health by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
And plenty of blame screens: Three-quarters of survey respondents say both social media and general device use are big problems for U.S. youth, while 66% specifically point to internet safety.
Health and science journalist Catherine PriceHe agrees with his parents, who also have a 10-year-old daughter. Every minute kids spend in front of a screen is a minute they’re not “developing real-world skills or real-world relationships or having real-world experiences,” he says.
Price recently said “Anxious Generation” Author Jonathan Haidt will write a book about screens and social media use for tweens. It’s called “Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a World Full of Screens.” And she has a few suggestions for parents who want to reduce their children’s device use.
Here’s what he suggests.
3 ways parents can reduce their kids’ screen time
1. Model the habits you want your children to exhibit
“It will be easier to limit your kids’ screen time if they see you trying to work on your own habits,” says Price.
Experts agree that modeling the behavior you want your children to exhibit is key to helping shape them.
“Think about the person you want your child to be,” author and educator Theo Wolf wrote. Latest article for CNBC Make It. “Ask yourself: Am I displaying these characteristics in front of them? Am I doing something that goes against the values I want to convey?”
You can even ask your kids to hold you accountable for looking at your phone or computer too much.
2. Invest in some shared family phones
Instead of giving your children their own phones, keep a few shared family phones.
Price suggests using a landline to help children develop conversation skills, encouraging them to use the phone to talk to grandparents or chat with friends.
You can also get a rotary phone for your family for after-school activities or if they’re going to a friend’s house. “They buy it, they use it, they give it back,” he says.
3. Make them pay for their own smartphones
Counseling psychologist Jean Twenge also says Price is an advocate of delaying buying smartphones for your children until they are at least 16 years old.
If you want to delay this even longer, you can tell them that they will have to pay for their smartphone themselves. If they know they’re financially responsible, “they probably won’t be able to get that loan until they’re 25,” he says.
He says it can also help “teach many important lessons about working hard towards a goal.”
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