10 tips to assist limit screen time for your kids
Most people would agree that our culture watches an excessive amount of television . Yet, few people are ready to curb their habit and reclaim their life. And even fewer skills to assist their children navigate the media-drenched world we sleep in .
Here are 10 tips to limit screen time for your kids.
1. Be a model . Sorry to start out with the toughest one, but there’s nowhere else to start out . Children will always gravitate toward the modeled behaviors of their parents. If they see you reading a book, they’re more likely to read. And if they see you watching television, so will they.
2. Be the Parent. it’s your job to encourage healthy behaviors and limit unhealthy ones – sometimes this suggests making unpopular decisions like limiting your children’s screen time. Make these tough decisions for your children. And always go an extra mile of explaining why you’ve got to make that choice – this may help them follow through and someday choose it for themselves.
3. Set Limited Viewing Times. If you’re not getting to close up the tv completely, choose the acceptable television viewing windows for your kids. it’s much easier to limit their viewing habit if they understand that they will only watch one show within the morning and one show after school (as just an example).
4. Play together with your Kids. Get down on the ground together with your kids and play with a doll, truck, or ball. It takes intentionality and selfless love once they are 6. But once they turn 13, you’ll be glad you probably did .
5. Be Involved in Their Lives. for several parents, it’s just easier to show on the tv than to truly be involved with the lives of their children. But those intimate life details are required for successful parenting. So observe, listen, ask, and parent.
6. Cut your Cable / Remove Your Television Completely. If you would like a sure-fire way to limit your child’s television viewing habits, cut your cable/satellite television feed (or remove your television completely). It can change your family’s life overnight aside from helping your pocket.
7. Observe Your Child’s Behavioral Changes. Television has an instantaneous impact on your child’s behavior. After an excessive amount of television/video games, they can get irritable, aggressive, selfish, and impatient. Once you start to note the change in their behavior yourself, you’ll be less inclined to place your kids ahead of the screen.
8. Value Family Meals and Car Rides. About two-thirds (64%) of children say the TV is typically on during meals. That’s regrettable because your family’s richest conversations will always happen during meals and within the car. Value those times together with your kids. Don’t let the TV steal them from you.
9. No TV in Bedrooms. Not your kids’ rooms. And not yours either. Remember tip number 1.
10. Find your mantra. A mantra may be a sound, word, or group of words that are considered capable of making transformation. While the words might not be magic in themselves, the consistent use of them are often . Every parent should have them and use them effectively.
Limiting your child’s screen time could seem like an impossible chore or it’s going to appear to be a battle that’s too difficult to fight. But it’s worth fighting.
Implementing just a couple of steps directly will assist you implement the others. Television viewing may be a momentum-gathering behavior. The more you are doing it, the more compelled you’re to continue (advertisements have that effect on viewers)
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
