Digital Parenting: Balancing Your Family's Screen Time

Across the world, billions of parents are learning to adapt to the tremendous responsibility of raising kids amidst the constant presence of technology. Conscious parenting around technology requires planning. While smart phones and tablets are part of our daily routines, we want to remember that young children’s brains are developing and need daily face-to-face interactions to continue to grow and learn. Reading, talking, playing, singing, and writing are essential daily activities for young children. With a little planning and imagination, you can create a healthy balance of screen time and playtime for your young one. 
 

Remember the AAP Screen Time Recommendations

Just a reminder of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for children’s screen time:

• For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing.
• For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.
• For children ages 6 and older, place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health. 
• Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.
• Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.

These rules will likely be bent from time to time, but let’s also remember how children’s brains develop. For a quick refresh watch this video , or read more about this at the source

Co-View and Co-Play

Co-view and Co-play when you can: Co-viewing and co-playing increases children's learning-- especially language and early literacy development. Of course this isn't possible with every minute of screen time, but plan for some Joint-Media-Engagement when you can. Here is a short video from Common Sense Media.

Healthy Media Diet

Choose (mostly) high quality content that is age appropriate. These are some of our favorites:

Common Sense Media has great lists of high quality and educational media for preschoolers and school-age kids. 

PBS Kids is always a top educational and safe choice with games and shows built on educational curriculums. 

Sensical TV  made by Common Sense, is an award winning website for free, educational aggregated content. Child development experts, not algorithms, approve every frame of every video for safety and age appropriateness.

It's ok to watch some things that are just for fun (and maybe not as educational), as long as they are age-appropriate. Think of screen time as a healthy balanced diet-- it's ok to have cookies and ice cream sometimes!

Set Boundaries, Structure Their Day, Maintain Your Sanity

Experts agree that children thrive on routines, try to stick to a predictable schedule around screens so that your children feel a calm and comfortable rhythm. Decide together when screens are welcome, and when you would like to keep a particular family time free of screens.

Establish norms and expectations: 

Download Your Own Family Screen Time Plan!

Set goals and limits for your family by downloading our Family Screen Time Plan.

If your children are old enough to be following lesson plans from school, be sure to separate ‘school screen time’ and ‘recreational screen time.’ 

Keep screen-free activities on hand

As you begin to build a more conscious screen time, try to have activities on hand both at home and on the go that are not screen based that your child can do on their own. I am sure your inbox is as packed with links and ideas as ours, but here are a few more ideas.
 

Use what you have at home

Start keeping those egg cartons, paper towel rolls, and pick up some vinegar and baking soda if you can. Using what you have at home to make art and explore STEM concepts is fun, easy, sustainable and most of all--very engaging for young children!  

Here are 50+science activities you can do with household items. 

For younger children, check out our Play Recipes--designed to encourage language through exploration of everyday materials.

Here are some fantastic sensory activities you can do with young children.

Keep Meal Time Family Time

Eating together as a family without screens, not only nourishes children’s bodies but also feeds their souls. Try to let meal times be an opportunity to put our phones and tablets down and focus on each other.

To discuss as a family try using this funny video collaboration by Common Sense and Sesame Street.

Screen Free Bedtimes

Early Childhood is a great time to form good habits! Some of the most established research around screen time is that kids should not use screens at bedtime because it will affect the crucial sleep hours needed throughout childhood.  ‘Screen bedtime’ should be at least 1 hour before the child’s bedtime. Experts recommend charging devices overnight in the living room (this includes older kids and teens as well) to create healthy sleep habits. 

Talk about online safety

This is a subject that needs to be talked about over and over with children as they grow and change throughout childhood. With your child spending more time online, be sure to talk about ways to stay safe in an age appropriate way.

Curious about AI toys? See what this report by Common Sense has to say first. You can also refer to this follow up article by Education Week.

Online educational links from Brooklyn Public Library:

Use your library card to access Bookflix--streaming video storybooks paired with related non-fiction and fiction titles. 

Bklyn BookMatch--Need a reading recommendation? Try Brooklyn Public Library’s free service, Bklyn BookMatch. Complete the form and a BPL librarian will create a customized reading list of five titles for you.

Search our catalog for ebooks and audio books.

Come with your little one to Brainy Babies Virtual on Zoom with Brooklyn Public Library every Thursday at 11am.

More about young children and screen time:

Common Sense Media for reviews, research, and more.

American Academy of Pediatrics Media and Children page.

UNICEF has interesting world wide information available.

Children and Screens has lots of information and free webinars for parents.