S is for...Screen time

 

But after the age of 2, advice on the world of devices varies significantly.

 

Since evidence on the link between screen time and children’s (negative) behavior remains relatively scant, I’ve considered the screen time debate within the realm of “trade offs and alternatives.” Meaning what else could your child be doing that they are not doing when sitting in front of a screen? By reframing our understanding away from an absolute (i.e, screen time is BAD or GOOD) to “Is this a good use of my child’s time right this minute?”, we might find ourselves more at peace with how we allow our children to use devices in our home.

 

So, step one is defining what are the tradeoffs when we allow our children to watch TV or be on a device? Well, truth be told, almost anything! So step two is then introduced: to think about what those ‘trade offs and alternatives’ might be in relation to the priorities we’ve set in our household. In other words, where does screen time sit in the hierarchy of things that I want my child to do in a day? Could they be outside? Could they be solving a puzzle? Could they be playing cars? Could they be reading a book?

 

COVID-19 certainly threw my family’s absolute rule (no screen time) out the door. We did two things to liven up the day and (admittedly) to give us, the parents, a break. First, we allowed Storyline Online (from the Screen Actor's Guild Foundation) into the household. One book / day, often played after lunch time or nearing the end of my work day. Second, we got Nana involved in reading books to our son via Facetime.

 

Obviously, though, like the introduction of anything into our lives, it opens us to a slippery slope. For instance, our son discovered car videos on YouTube and has been talking with either Spanish or Southern American accents ever since. Which is why step three in this decision-making on screen time is so important: define the terms of use.

 

So what does this look like for us now? As a general rule in our household, we have allowed one video (no more than 20 minutes) in the weekday. The rule on this video is that it must be educational and right now the top choices are David Attenborough’s Nature series or the Netflix series, If I Were An Animal. This video can happen after school BUT after chores (unpacking the lunch, putting the dirty containers in the dishwasher and hanging the school bag up on its hook) and generally when I am cooking on the other side of the kitchen island.

 

Then on the weekends we allow the incredibly annoying car YouTube videos for no more than 30 mins / weekend day. Often just after lunch and sheepishly when I want to sit on the back porch and read the weekend paper. All of this also takes into account that we will have (a) been outside for a good part of the day already and gotten fresh air and exercise; and (b) that we are not forsaking opportunities to visit with family or friends.

 

Is it perfect? By no means. Will it stick like this forever? No way. But the important thing is that little Clyde knows there are some ground rules around access to screen time and that we are consistent with them.

 

What are your thoughts on screen time?