It’s summer, your kids are out of school.
But you still have to work.
The TV or tablet can come in handy when you have to jump on a call or get some cleaning done. But what are the best practices for regulating devices?
Emily Cheshire, DNP, MS, FNP-BC, is a Family Nurse Practitioner, but she’s also a mom of three. So she knows first-hand the challenges of balancing kids' screen time.
“I get where the clinical guidelines meet the realities, and I think that's kind of where I've had lessons learned,” she says.
Cheshire, an assistant teaching professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz College of Nursing, defines screen time in a few different ways. In broad terms, screen time is any time in front of a screen that doesn’t include video chatting with friends or relatives or online appointments. But there is nuance to different screen time activities. Solo screen time is when a child is alone in front of a screen for entertainment or gaming purposes. Co-watching is when an adult watches with a child and talks about what they are watching.
There are positive and negative impacts of each type of screen activity.
Cheshire says the most important part of designing screen time rules is finding what works best for your family.
For her family of five, they had meetings to come up with screen time rules and what that screen time included.
“In my house, it can't be complicated. We do one hour, and that's it. You choose the hour, you choose whatever it is. I have the devices set up to where it shuts off after that,” she says. “I think the most important definition is whatever you define it as in your house and be clear about it.”
What Are The Drawbacks?
Cheshire says excessive screen time can put kids at risk for an array of issues including delayed language development, trouble sleeping, shortened attention span and increased risk for anxiety and depression.
She says overstimulating screens can cause a neurochemical release like dopamine that can cause a child’s baseline of happiness to decrease.
“If you're depleting it or raising it to a level with those quick hits then those “fun” things for younger kids might not do it anymore,” she says. “Like sitting down and playing chess with mom after you've been watching YouTube all day.”
Cheshire says when a child spends too many hours on a screen, there is less time for key developmental experiences like decision making and problem solving.
Platforms that include social networking are linked to increased anxiety and depression levels in young people and can make children vulnerable to cyber bullying and online predators. Cheshire says the research shows social media should not be used by children under the age of 16.
Studies show that screen time can be a factor in childhood obesity. Cheshire says screen time can take away from time spent doing physical activity. She also emphasizes that kids should not eat meals or snacks while on screens.
“Eating should really be an active engagement, so that you're taking your time, you're mindful of what you're eating,” she says. “It's important to hit that satiety cue as well, that you're full, and if your brain's getting these dopamine hits [from screens], it’s not getting the feedback that you're full, and so you consume more.”
What Are The Benefits?
Cheshire says despite negative impacts of screen time, screen time can be beneficial – in moderation.
For example, what your child watches matters. Cheshire recommends educational programs such as Number Blocks and PBS Kids. These shows are focused on child development and tend to be less dopamine depleting.
Some studies show a positive correlation with pediatric child language skills for educational programs and co-viewing. By co-viewing, parents can “reinforce what the show's saying, so it's more engaging, and instead of passive, it becomes an active engagement with the brain,” Cheshire says.
She says a family movie night can be a good opportunity for a co-viewing experience.
How to Talk to Kids About Screens
Before talking about screen time rules with your family, you need to define screen time. Does screen time include movie nights or just solo entertainment time?
Being clear about what screen time includes is key when setting boundaries.
Cheshire says it’s important to be open to your kids about why you have rules in place around screens. She suggests talking about these rules in the same way you might talk about wearing a bike helmet or life jacket.
“I would lump it in as that because they can relate to safety when it's tangible to them.”
Cheshire often talks to her kids about the addictive properties of screens and explains to them why too much can cause harm.
“I’ll say, 'These people that invented the screens, they really want you to feel like this, and it's really working. It's making you really unhappy when it's over. So, we're going to take a holiday from it’,” she explains.
It’s also critical not to shame kids for excessive screen use. Cheshire says this can promote hiding and dishonesty the next time they go over their limit. Instead, she recommends being curious with them; asking questions about how they feel and teaching them about how screen addiction happens.
“It's important not to shame them and yell at them and ground them, it's like, hey, look, this is what it's designed to do, let's talk about it.” she says.
Cheshire says these conversations and consistent limits help kids develop healthy relationships with screens and sets them up for success when they make their own routines.
“It's all about helping your kid make healthy choices in an environment that has a lot of risk, and that's going to be their whole life,” she says. “It can help set up healthy choice-making around other things too. It can be an opportunity, but it has to be all hands on deck.”
She says she’s seen the way screen time limits have impacted her own kid’s decision making.
“My son used to want to come home immediately and do a screen time, and then maybe go play with friends after, and now it's changed to where he immediately wants to go play with friends, and if friends aren't available, or games and stuff aren't available, then he might think I'll do my screen time,” Cheshire says.
Best Practice Takeaways
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