Parents share the 6 game-changers that reduced screen time for their children
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Children and young people’s obsession with screens can drive their parents mad – almost literally. There’s no doubt that the frequent battles over how long kids spend on their screens can really stress some parents out, and this year’s Parent Mental Health Day (January 30) has a theme of #ScreenSmartParenting to address the growing concerns among parents about the impact of digital technology on their families’ wellbeing.
“There may be difficulty in gauging how screen time might be affecting children and young people, a lack of balance in terms of other activities, and a general feeling of not being in control.”. And mum Liat Hughes Joshi, author of How To Unplug Your Child (published in paperback by Vie Books on February 13, priced £7.99), stresses: “When I talk to parents about the toughest issues they face with their children, screen time is top of the list for very many of them.
“In some families it’s a daily battleground, in others still a source of worry for parents.”. But what are the game-changers parents have implemented that reduced their kids’ screen time – and, consequently, their own worries about it?. Krause asked three mums and a dad, who have children aged from 12-17 years, what worked for them….
1. Try to understand their online world. One parent said they made an effort to get to know what their child was doing online, joining in some of the games and activities, and then discussing what might make it hard to limit screen time and devising steps how to do it. The parent said: “I felt like if I couldn’t beat them, I would join them, and once I really understood what the draw was, I could then help them to learn to spend their time wisely.”.
