Most kids today get a lot of screen. With both parents working, it’s easy for parents to let kids watch something while they finish off a crucial work call, or finish cooking dinner. And before we realise it, the kids are easily doing 3-4 hours of screen time a day and longer during the weekends.
Now, just like adults, it’s easy to get kids hooked on to a bad habit and parents need to move mountains to break it off. Well, here are some tips to cut back on-screen time, if your child gets too much of it.
-Make sure everyone in the family follows a healthy screen-routine. Make sure you don’t watch movies just before bed-time. Sometimes people leave the TV switched on when they aren’t even in the room. Make sure, all screens are turned off when not in use.
-Keep track of how much and what everyone watches at home. Older kids sometimes need to read or research online. Encourage this under supervision. But a younger sibling need not get three hours of screen. It’s important to make kids understand that what they watch online matters.
-Plan how many hours of screen each person gets in the family (including work and homework) It ‘need not’ be equal for everyone! Children should have proper privacy stings and parental control. The plan should include individual screen time as well as group screen time.
-Plan alternative activities for kids when they are off the screen. Creative activities can keep kids engaged and help them wean off the screen. Sign them for hobby classes – swimming, art, athletics. They should have sufficient physical activities away from the screen.
-Take away the screen, if you have to. If kids come home to something interesting and non-screen, they might actually just not demand it! It does not mean that you go off your work screen to keep them away. I usually ask my son to be my cook and make me a sandwich when he gets home from school. Not only does he learn to make food for himself, he also realizes that mum needs to work and needs to be fed too! And he feels proud that he has ‘taken care’ of me for a change.
-Have non-screen challenges. The one who goes the longest without a screen during the weekend gets to play mini-gold with dad. Trust me, kids will do anything for this!
-Make a list of non-screen useful chores that kids can do. Make the beds, dust the windows, older kids can cut up fruit or make sandwiches, clean up after dinner, unload the dishwasher. Let everyone choose what they want to from the list.
Help your child accept screen time as a privilege and not take it for granted.