I mentioned to some colleagues recently how surprised I was that so many parents give kids screens to keep them occupied during a doctor’s visit. By being on a screen, the parents are missing out on an opportunity to have their children experience the health profession, to be present during the exam and interact with the whole health team.
About an hour later I had a big “aha” moment. What if all pediatricians in the country have signs in the waiting room that said something like the following:
"For children’s development, having times off screens is important. This doctor’s office is a ‘screen-free zone’ for kids. We want them to be engaged in the visit and who knows—maybe they will want to go into the healthcare profession someday."
Clearly, if a child is frantic without a screen certain exceptions would apply—and this would be a good time to screen a family about screen-time rules.
My family has several screen-free zones: the car (exceptions are made for Google Maps) and the bedrooms at bedtime. My daughter, Tessa's room, is mainly a screen-free zone which includes her cell phone.
It is one thing to say a place is screen-free, and it is quite another to enforce it—I get it! For schools, I have been learning of more and more teachers using hanging pocket organizers where students put their phones when they walk into the classroom. Enforcing at home is tricky too—it is all about the frequent calm conversations which is why we do TTTs.
So for this Tech Talk Tuesday here are some questions to help you start a conversation:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
I mentioned to some colleagues recently how surprised I was that so many parents give kids screens to keep them occupied during a doctor’s visit. By being on a screen, the parents are missing out on an opportunity to have their children experience the health profession, to be present during the exam and interact with the whole health team.
About an hour later I had a big “aha” moment. What if all pediatricians in the country have signs in the waiting room that said something like the following:
"For children’s development, having times off screens is important. This doctor’s office is a ‘screen-free zone’ for kids. We want them to be engaged in the visit and who knows—maybe they will want to go into the healthcare profession someday."
Clearly, if a child is frantic without a screen certain exceptions would apply—and this would be a good time to screen a family about screen-time rules.
My family has several screen-free zones: the car (exceptions are made for Google Maps) and the bedrooms at bedtime. My daughter, Tessa's room, is mainly a screen-free zone which includes her cell phone.
It is one thing to say a place is screen-free, and it is quite another to enforce it—I get it! For schools, I have been learning of more and more teachers using hanging pocket organizers where students put their phones when they walk into the classroom. Enforcing at home is tricky too—it is all about the frequent calm conversations which is why we do TTTs.
So for this Tech Talk Tuesday here are some questions to help you start a conversation:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
The Pew Research Center recently released findings from a study conducted in the Fall of 2023, which has important stats that can help inform our parenting and spark essential conversations with our youth. I’ve structured today’s blog to state the findings first and then write about the solutions later.
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I have one goal with this week’s blog: Inspire you to make one and only one New Year’s Resolution about screen time rules. Maybe that has to do with your own behavior with screen time, maybe with your kids, family, or even work. And I’ll share with you my one-screen time rule for 2024.
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A few weeks ago I wrote a blog and encouraged people to share with youth in their lives whatever small change they made and to share with me as well so that I could share with you! And that is what I am doing today. I received some great responses. Here are a few examples people shared with me:
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
