The question of how much screen time should children be getting is one of the fastest-rising modern parental issues. It\u2019s not surprising given anxieties over minds rotting, cyber-bullying, morality and mental health all snowballing into one giant knot of stress for parents all over the world.<\/p>\n
Parenting now means potentially feeling guilty about your own screen time habits, running a long and bitter war against your own kids over taking away their screens (one that, let\u2019s be honest, you lose most of the time), and even conflict with your partner or other parents\u2019 screen time policies.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all experienced how frustrating it is to try and get your child\u2019s attention, but they\u2019re so engrossed in the screen that you may as well be trying to talk to them from Mars. It\u2019s also easy to feel judged for how much time your child is spending on the screen. You can get defensive over how your level of exhaustion isn\u2019t being factored in, nor your efforts to police screen time.<\/p>\n
However, this is an issue that is impossible to ignore given the inevitability of our children spending hours on screens. We even have endless sources out there telling us the recommended screen time, ranging from none at all for children aged 0-2 and 3 hours per day(!) for children 5 to 17 years old.<\/p>\n
So, the question to ask is not \u201chow can I reduce my child\u2019s screen time?\u201d but \u201chow can I make sure my child isn\u2019t harmed by their screen time\u201d and \u201chow can I ensure that my child\u2019s screen time is productive for them?\u201d<\/p>\n
For a catchier version, think \u2018healthy not harmful\u2019. We\u2019ve put together three ways you can accomplish this lofty target.<\/p>\n<\/div>