Monday, May 8, 2017

The ongoing balance of screentime

Like many parents, I struggle with my son's screentime. Sure, we have rules in place to limit the amount of time he has per day, but that is only a start. When we consider content that he is allowed to access, "play time" versus more educational materials, and his behavior upon learning his time is up (children have a hard time with the concept of how fast time can move), I find it is a subject that I need to revisit more often than I thought I would.

But, it is an important topic, so we revisit it often. The underlying issue is that children's use of screentime is still actively studied - meaning it is hard to pinpoint its long-term effects. I really enjoy reading all the latest research though, including this study about the effects of screentime on early language development.

Right now, I am testing out when our son is allowed to use his device: Does it make more sense for him to get to choose his time whenever he wants (which usually results in his using up all his time first thing in the morning) or have him wait to use the time in the afternoon (when he generally hits peak boredom)? We are trying out the latter scenario right now...let's see how this goes.

What limits do you place on your child's screentime? Tell me in the comments.

No comments:

Post a Comment