The Impact of Screen Time on Mental Health cont'd

Whether that’s going for family walks or signing up for the local kids’ soccer team, it’s all about finding things that they love and will want to engage in as much as possible Looking within the school setting can be very helpful for busy families who might not be able to manage extracurriculars on top of work and other familial responsibilities.

Beyond physical activity, try to encourage any interest in non-screen related hobbies: music, art projects, or board games, for example.

These activities offer opportunities that are beneficial to your child’s mental health because they allow them to relax, get moving, or socialize without the negative associations of the screen

3. Modeling Healthy Behaviour

Practice what you preach As you know, your children are keenly aware of when you are being hypocritical as a parent, which will undermine any efforts to limit screen time.

Do your best to:

Demonstrate balanced screen use by limiting your own device time.

Designate times, such as during meals or before bedtime, when you all put screens away (as potentially set out in your family plan!)

Actively support those alternative activities mentioned above.

The good news is that modelling healthy behaviours around screen time for your children will also benefit you and your well-being.

4. Ensuring Quality Content

As we’ve explored, it’s not always the screen time itself that is harmful but the nature of what children are watching or engaging with.

Do what you can to ensure children consume ‘quality’ content

This means:

Selecting apps and programs that are age-appropriate and educational Watching programs together. Engage in meaningful discussions to enhance understanding and critical thinking (making viewing a learning experience). Learning about the concept of digital citizenship together

Common Sense Media has put together some supplementary advice designed to help parents assess the quality of a child’s digital media use