Many of us worry about our kids spending too much time in front of a screen. But is it our kids we really need to worry about? Many of us are guilty of staring at our phone screens all day or being glued to the TV for most of the evening. This can have a negative impact on ourselves and our kids.
The dangers of too much screen time as a parents
Just why should parents be worried about their own screen time? Here are just some of the potential negative effects:
- You set a bad example: Kids look up to their parents. If you are constantly staring at a screen, they will think this is normal behaviour and may struggle to see why they should limit their own screen time.
- You miss out on quality time with your kids: On top of not watching what your kids are doing, spending too much time at home on your phone or watching TV could result in you missing out on play time and rewarding experiences with your kids – something you may regret later when they get older.
- Your own physical/mental health suffers: Staring at a screen all day could lead to eye strain, headaches and neck pain. Given that most of us are sedentary while using screens, it can also lead to weight gain and weight-related health problems. Using screens in the evening can also affect sleep quality. On top of this, the content we consume can affect our mood – too much toxic content can quickly make us depressed, while often still being addictive.
How to improve your screen time as a parent
Spending certain hours in front of a screen may be necessary for work or for communicating with people. Therefore you can only limit your screen time so much. However, this can still have great benefits. How you interact with screens is important too – not all leisurely screen time is bad, and screen activities can actually be quite healthy. Below are just a few measures that you may want to consider.
Engage in healthier screen activities
There are many mind-numbing ways in which we use our devices, however there are also many potential positive uses. There are crossword and puzzle sites that you can use to exercise your brain. There are apps for learning languages and online videos that can teach us skills. There are also meditation apps and online communities where we can speak out about issues. These forms of screen time are better than simply scrolling through social media.
Make screen time a family activity
Screen time can be a healthy opportunity for family bonding. You can play video games with your kids, learn TikTok dances, learn to play a musical instrument together on YouTube or enjoy a family movie night. This is healthier than everyone staring at screens in separate rooms doing their own thing.
Ban screens for certain periods of the day
Many parents ban their kids from using screens for certain periods of the day, but continue to still interact with screens themselves. Consider enforcing an hour of no screen time for everyone. A good time to do this could be during dinner or an hour before the kids go
