screen use be stopped at least an hour before bed<\/a>.<\/p>\n5. Keep Track of Screen Time<\/h2>\n
Keep track of how much screen time your family has each day by writing it down each day. Log each family member\u2019s time, including yours. This is useful for several reasons. You\u2019ll be able to see how much time you\u2019re spending looking at screens so you can make adjustments and improvements. It doesn\u2019t have to be a formal or involved process unless you want to make it one as part of your family plan. You can just keep a running list on a notepad. Hold onto these notes to see how you\u2019re progressing week to week or month to month.<\/p>\n
6. No TV or Computers in the Bedroom<\/h2>\n
Doctors and other experts emphasize the importance of keeping screens out of the bedroom. Make a rule that no computers, no television, no tablets, and no phones are allowed in their rooms. This rule can become more difficult to enforce as children get older and want more independence with their devices and need computers more and more for schoolwork. However, it\u2019s an important rule to maintain. Keeping a device curfew as mentioned earlier is a good idea even for older kids.<\/p>\n
7. Keep Screens Off During Activities<\/h2>\n
Many of us have fallen into the habit of keeping the TV on in the background during activities that don\u2019t require our full attention. Having a show or movie on in the background may seem harmless, but it is still a distraction and would count towards total screen time. That means switching them off during homework time, chores, and meals. Even if it is during scheduled screen time, kids should not be allowed to eat in front of the computer or TV. Mindless snacking becomes a problem when kids are not paying attention to what they\u2019re eating.<\/p>\n
8. Lead by Example<\/h2>\n
Again, you can\u2019t just talk the talk when it comes to limiting screen time. You need to walk the walk. Decrease your own screen time to two hours a day outside of work. You might need to be at your computer most of the day, but you can limit your own social media use, television time, and other digital activity.<\/p>\n
At Carithers Pediatric Group, we know that many factors contribute to your child\u2019s physical, mental, and emotional health. We offer comprehensive care to children from birth through the college years. If you have questions about how screen time can affect your child\u2019s health, call our Riverside office at (904) 387-6200 or our Southside office at (904) 997-0023 to make an appointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Screens are everywhere these days. Your child is exposed to them all day long. As parents, it can be difficult to limit your child\u2019s exposure to media, but the benefits of limiting screen time for kids are worth the effort. Here are some tips to get you started on making a plan to limit your<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carithersgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}