As a parent and an educator, I am constantly struggling with finding a balance when it comes to my children and screen time. Often I justify the 20-30 minutes a day my six year old gets by telling myself he is using educational games. And, there are good games to practice skills available in the online world. However, when my son gets a hold of the IPad, I also face the battle between using ixl.com (a math site) or “Spelling Rocket” (a spelling App) and letting him play Mindcraft (teaches coding, right??), Candy Crush and Minion Rush. Those of you with older children face the dilemma of social media sites and texting. I read one statistic that stated teens text an average of 100 time per day! So, how do we balance our lives and help our children have healthy screen time habits?
Susan Stiffelman, MFT; parenting expert (author of Parenting Without Power Struggles) recently posted an online telecast of experts in the field discussing this topic. She states: “Last week’s Parenting in the Digital Age online series offered guidance for steering clear of power struggles with kids who want to be plugged in to their digital devices or social media all the time. 19 speakers including Dr. Dan Siegel, Byron Katie, and Glennon Doyle Melton shared insights and information about the impact of screen-time on a child or teen’s developing brain, offering practical suggestions for helping kids healthier habits around technology.
This program is still available for those of you who missed it or want to listen again and again. (Hours of high-quality information was shared!) Many parents have been inviting their kids to listen with them so they can hear from someone other than MOM or DAD about the importance of having healthy habits around technology.
Most of us spend hours a week (or perhaps hours each day!) arguing with our kids over homework, chores or turning off their digital devices. We may yell, threaten, bribe, or just cave in rather than face another angry outburst. Yet most parents spend more money on dance classes or soccer uniforms for their kids than on making their parenting lives better…and easier.”
If you are interested in learning more, please go to: https://susanstiffelman.com/digitalsummitupgrade/
I learned a lot from listening to these experts and I am happy to pass along this information to you!
Regards,
Lori Solovey