January 25, 2012, 8:30 pm
Keith Morton, Author of “Not Superdad”, will be giving a parenting workshop at our 6th Annual K-12 Education Expo. Check out his tips on managing screen time, and come to his workshop on March 10th for tons of other tips!
As technology continues to evolve by leaps and bounds bringing innovation in every area from manufacturing to social media, screens have emerged as an indispensible tool for both work and play. Schools around the country and around the world are adding handheld screen devices to their existing computer labs, iPads are being incorporated into curriculums, and reading has shifted from the page to the screen with dozens of e-reading devices coming to market over the last few years. And of course phones with apps and touch screens that would even impress Lieutenant Uhura (communications officer from Star Trek).
But with all of this technology comes responsibilities that our parents before us simply did not have. Managing screens was easy: you came home from school maybe watched a few cartoons before homework then your parents watched the news, then the Cosby Show and then the kids were off to bed. Now there are screens everywhere, multiple computers in the home and literally hundreds of television channels to choose from, many of which no one should be watching much less children. And many studies show that too much screen time is not good for the developing brains of children. We have our work cut out for us!
Tips for Managing Screen Time
Lump it all together – School age children (elementary) who use screens as part of their school work in and outside of school should probably be limited to about an hour a day of total recreational screen time. So if they want to surf the parental-controlled web for a half an hour and watch a sitcom for the other, then that’s their hour.
Don’t Discount the classics – Old school board and card games are still fun! The family should play together at least once a week and children should be encouraged to play on their own.
Encourage play – regular toys (not battery powered), costumes, dolls and action figures all encourage imagination. And if not for toys many of our great artists and inventors would not have had the foundation to imagine the technologies that have changed our lives.
Use your instincts – If you think your child is watching too much TV or spending too much time playing video games, then they probably are. The beauty of being a parent is that you are allowed to set limits and rules that make sense for your family, so do it!
Chill out – You probably aren’t ruining your children if you allow them to watch more age-appropriate TV on the weekends than you do during the week. And giving up an extra few minutes of screen time here and there is not the end of the world. We are parents after all, not TV police.
Tips for Parents (27)
January 25, 2012, 8:30 pm
Keith Morton, Author of “Not Superdad”, will be giving a parenting workshop at our 6th Annual K-12 Education Expo. Check out his tips on managing screen time, and come to his workshop on March 10th for tons of other tips!
As technology continues to evolve by leaps and bounds bringing innovation in every area from manufacturing to social media, screens have emerged as an indispensible tool for both work and play. Schools around the country and around the world are adding handheld screen devices to their existing computer labs, iPads are being incorporated into curriculums, and reading has shifted from the page to the screen with dozens of e-reading devices coming to market over the last few years. And of course phones with apps and touch screens that would even impress Lieutenant Uhura (communications officer from Star Trek).
But with all of this technology comes responsibilities that our parents before us simply did not have. Managing screens was easy: you came home from school maybe watched a few cartoons before homework then your parents watched the news, then the Cosby Show and then the kids were off to bed. Now there are screens everywhere, multiple computers in the home and literally hundreds of television channels to choose from, many of which no one should be watching much less children. And many studies show that too much screen time is not good for the developing brains of children. We have our work cut out for us!
Tips for Managing Screen Time
Lump it all together – School age children (elementary) who use screens as part of their school work in and outside of school should probably be limited to about an hour a day of total recreational screen time. So if they want to surf the parental-controlled web for a half an hour and watch a sitcom for the other, then that’s their hour.
Don’t Discount the classics – Old school board and card games are still fun! The family should play together at least once a week and children should be encouraged to play on their own.
Encourage play – regular toys (not battery powered), costumes, dolls and action figures all encourage imagination. And if not for toys many of our great artists and inventors would not have had the foundation to imagine the technologies that have changed our lives.
Use your instincts – If you think your child is watching too much TV or spending too much time playing video games, then they probably are. The beauty of being a parent is that you are allowed to set limits and rules that make sense for your family, so do it!
Chill out – You probably aren’t ruining your children if you allow them to watch more age-appropriate TV on the weekends than you do during the week. And giving up an extra few minutes of screen time here and there is not the end of the world. We are parents after all, not TV police.