Screen time rules for kids are going to be different for every family, but here is a list of 8 simple ideas to get you started as you aim to reduce technology usage in your home.
No Screens Until You…
What types of things do you desire your children to do instead of flock to devices? Make a list that suits your unique family and institute a rule that screens are not an option until the those things are complete.
Here are some ideas of things you might want your children to do before screen time…
- Homework
- Exercise
- Chores
- Care for Pets
- Outdoor Play
- Read Books
- Take a walk
- Ride their bike
- Listen to an audiobook
- Practice an Instrument
- Spend time with their sibling playing a board game
- Write a letter to a family member or friend
- Work on a skill for thirty minutes (math facts, multiplication tables, basketball practice, knitting, etc.)
- Draw a detailed picture
- Color in a coloring book
- Do a handicraft
- Drink half their daily water
- Eat their daily servings of fruits and vegetables
- Have bible time and copy scripture into a notebook
No Screens Until a Certain Age
The age that children are being exposed to screens seems to get younger each year. Consider setting a blanket family rule that the kids in your home are not allowed on screens at all until they turn a certain age. Even within that, consider which types of screens you will allow at what age.
Here are some examples of types of screen time rules you could set for your family…
- No TV until 4 years old
- No laptop usage until 10 years old
- No video games until 13 years old
- No cellphone until 16 years old or until you have a part time job and can pay for the cost of the phone and the monthly bill yourself
No Screens If…
Do your children display certain undesirable behaviors after screen time? If you have kids who punch walls while playing video games, ignore you while scrolling on their smartphone, neglect homework to stream extra TV shows, or have a full blown tantrum after tablet time, you might want to consider rules related to screen time and appropriate behavior. If negative behaviors follow time on electronic devices, consider removing those types of screens altogether.
Screen Free Days
Which days of the week do you want screen time to be an option and which days do you want to keep screen free?
Here are some ideas to get your started on making screen time rules for your family…
- No screens on school nights
- Screen time is available every other day
- No screens on family rest day
- Screen time is available three days a week
- Screen time is available one day a week
Screen Free Seasons
We have seen great benefits from an annual break from screens between May and October. These months offer the best weather and activities in our area. Consider which times of year you might do a digital detox with your family and increase your time outdoors.
Here’s a blog post all about how we do a big digital detox each year:
Certain Electronic Devices Are Not Permitted
Sometimes screen time rules will have more to do with the type of device than the amount of time spent on it. For example, in our home we are okay with having a weekly winter movie night as a family. We choose these movies carefully, shy away from overstimulating modern cartoons, and make it a co-viewing bonding event with our big kids.
However, we are not okay with our children using smartphones, tablets, iPads, or video game consoles at all. We do not believe those types of devices add value to a young child’s life. We are also not okay with televisions in bedrooms or even a communal TV in the living room. We have intentionally made screen time very inconvenient for ourselves. When we host a winter movie night, we either have to all huddle around one small laptop or we have to disconnect one of our computer work monitors from the office, set up an old DVD player, and take it all down when we are finished.
This might sound ridiculous to some people, but this is what has worked for our family. Because we have set screen time rules that keep excessive time on tech inconvenient to us, we are motivated to be present with one another instead of vegging out online. There are so many awesome screen time alternatives that we could be doing on any given day such as talking to our family, reading together, hosting a game night with friends, gardening, knitting, leather working, drawing, writing, playing sports, taking a walk, enjoying pets, investing in time with our church family, serving others, cooking, baking together, and making jewelry. The list goes on and on. Because we care about these types of things, we go out of our way to make screen time inconvenient and we save it for specific occasions such as winter weekend movie nights.
Consider the ages of your children, their personality types, how they have reacted to screen time in the past, and your unique family culture. Then decide which types of electronic devices are beneficial at this time and which ones will no longer be permitted in your home.
If you have made mistakes in this area, know that you are not alone. We all have. You can remove any screens that have negatively impacted your family and start fresh. You are the parent.
Stay Off Unfamiliar Screens
This is a great rule to prevent exposure to inappropriate content or even just content that does not align with your family values. As a general rule, we do not allow our children to view other people’s electronic devices. We have noticed children on their parent’s smartphones or carrying their own electronic devices in public and have decided that our kids are not allowed to huddle around with the group of kids who stare into the screen while that one child plays a game or shows something interesting to the crowd. We teach our kids to stay off of other people’s electronic devices even if they are invited to play or look at what a peer is doing on a device.
There are a multitude of reasons that we do not want our kids on unfamiliar screens. First and foremost, you never know what could pop up or what type of parental controls are in place on someone else’s electronic device.
Second, when I see kids playing on electronic devices in public, I do not want to normalize this for my children. Kids can so easily be enticed by a flashy, fast paced game on a screen. Rather than letting our kids get distracted and sucked into the virtual world, we encourage them in human interaction when we are out and about. If we notice that a peer has isolated to a corner of the playground with their parent’s smartphone and others are flocking toward them to watch them scroll, we encourage our kids to swing from the monkey bars, slide down the slides, and play a game of tag instead.
Keep Screens In Plain Sight
Similarly to the above mentioned rule, we don’t want our kids playing with peers in bedrooms, basements, or other private rooms where they may have access to an electronic device. I try to keep get togethers in our home where I know screens will not be an issue, but if I am going over a new friend’s house for a playdate, I will text them in advance and let them know that we are excited to come, but our kids are not allowed to play in peer bedrooms or on peer devices. This saves me from having to initiate an awkward conversation later on if a peer asks my kids to come play in an area where I cannot observe them.
Also, if we have friends or young family members come over for a playdate, I will collect their electronic devices, stash them in our front office, and provide screen free activities and snacks instead. When it comes to kids and screens, I believe it is better to prevent a possible issue than have to address it later on. I try to create a relaxed environment where kids feel free to play. When the weather is nice, we keep playdates outdoors where screens are virtually a non-issue.
For older kids and teens who have their own electronic devices, you can implement the rule that screens must be kept in plain sight. Set up a charging station and collect smartphones at a certain hour in your home to prevent aimless bedroom scrolling into the wee hours of the night.
Leave me a comment below and share the screen time rules that have worked well for your family!
Leave a Reply