Implementing a Screen Time Plan
With summer break around the corner, I know that many caregivers become worried about their child using screens even more often. Children are no longer at school for a good portion of the day and it can sometimes be just too hot in Austin to stay outside for too long. However, I think the transition into summer makes a great time to implement a new media plan if you’re concerned about your child’s screen time since children understand this to be a time of new routines anyway.
When creating a new plan for your family, it can be a great activity to sit down with your child(ren) and create the plan together. When we include the whole family in making a new screen time plan, it helps children feel as though it’s a collaborative experience where even caregivers are participating in screen limits rather than a punishment where they’re losing screen time.
You’ll want to go into this meeting with an idea of the topics you’d like to discuss and where you stand on them, but when your child helps you create this plan, they have buy-in which helps to make a successful plan. Be ready with some choices you might offer to your child that are age-appropriate and pre-approved by you.
What topics should you think about or discuss when creating a screen time plan?
Screen-Free Zones
Screen-Free Times
Device Curfews
Types of Media
Balancing Screen Time with Other Activities
To help guide you in where you stand on these topics, let’s discuss the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and some other suggestions of ideas to consider.
Screen-Free Zones
The AAP says to keep bedrooms screen-free for children and caregivers. Your family might also consider making strollers, the car, or family/social gatherings screen-free.
Screen-Free Times
The AAP says to keep mealtimes screen-free for children and caregivers. Using screens during mealtimes can lead to unhealthy eating, so you might try implementing some new discussion topics. You can try having each family member share their sunny (positive thing that happened that day), cloudy (negative thing that happened that day), and rainbow (something they’re looking forward to tomorrow) or check out Jaclyn’s blog on new ways to ask your child about their day.
The AAP says to keep caregiver-child playtimes screen-free for children and caregivers. They suggest that caregivers set a “do not disturb” option on their phones during these times. If you’re looking for more ways to play with your child without a screen, learn more in this blog about using play to strengthen your relationship.
The AAP also says to avoid using media as the only way to calm your child. They explain that, “Although there are intermittent times (eg, medical procedures, airplane flights) when media is useful as a soothing strategy, there is concern that using media as a strategy to calm could lead to problems with limit setting or the inability of children to develop their own emotion regulation.” Read Sarah’s blog on the science behind regulating your child for an alternative way to help your child in moments of dysregulation.
You might also consider which days of the week are for what type (or any type) of screen time. For example, you might have TV time during the week, but reserve video games for the weekends. On the flip side, your family might use TV and video games during the week, but reserve the weekends as screen-free time for more quality caregiver-child playtime.
When your child returns to school in the fall, you’ll also want to consider if the mornings and homework time are screen-free times or not.
Device Curfews
The AAP recommends no screen usage one hour before bedtime and to remove devices from bedrooms before bed. (This is an example of good sleep hygiene! For more information, read Jami’s blog about supporting your child with getting quality rest.) You might discuss with your family where the devices will be charged: the caregiver’s bedroom, the kitchen, etc.
Types of Media
The AAP says to avoid digital media use except for video chatting for children younger than 18 months. For children ages 18 months to 5 years old, the AAP says to choose high-quality programming. They also say to avoid fast-paced programs (young children do not understand them as well), apps with lots of distracting content, and any violent content.
For older children, they suggest monitoring media content and what apps are used or downloaded.
Common Sense Media can be a great resource for caregivers to gain some insight into media before exploring it with their child.
Balancing Screen Time with Other Activities
For children 2 to 5 years of age, the AAP says to limit screen use to 1 hour per day. With older children, we want to teach them how to regulate their screen use on their own. Instead of setting what might feel like an arbitrary time limit, you might consider what activities are a priority for your family and then see where screen time falls after these other priorities have been met. You might explain to your child that screen time is for when other goals have been met for the day.
Let’s consider these priorities by the blocks of time your child does them for. Here’s an example. A 7-year-old spends 10 hours sleeping at night (which is within the recommended 9-12 hours for their age; you can check out more about recommended sleep times here). They spend an hour in the morning getting ready for the day and having breakfast and an hour at night eating dinner and doing their bedtime routine. They’re in the car for 15 minutes to get to camp and another 15 minutes to come home. Camp itself is 6 hours. (If your child is not in camp during the day this summer, you might have to be more creative with planning non-screen activities; more on this in a minute.) Now, let’s consider what other priorities your family has and make sure to include them before we leave the other 5.5 hours to screen time.
First, I recommend that children have at least 30 minutes a day of free play time (time when they get to decide what to play). This time helps children to grow cognitively and emotionally.
“Self-directed play fosters the skills necessary to navigate an uncertain future,
one that will demand increasing flexibility and creative problem solving.”
-Kim John Payne
Your family might value community activities, perhaps an hour of your day is dedicated to volunteering, going to the library, or participating in a youth group such as Girl Scouts. Your child might love a musical instrument, so they practice this for an hour a day instead.
We also want to make sure that physical activity is prioritized over screen time. The AAP says that children ages 3-5 need 15 minutes of physical activity for every hour they’re awake and that older children and teens need 60 minutes of moderate physical activity each day.
In our example, that leaves about 3 hours left in the day. Some nights, this might be time to watch a movie as a family and then have a bit of tablet time. On others, this might be a board game and craft.
Now, I want to circle back to activities for children who aren’t attending camp this summer. These 6 hours will look different for everyone depending on child care, working hours, and more. You might start by talking to your child about what they’d like to fill the time with: playdates, craft time, outdoor water activities, etc. Pinterest is great for brainstorming these ideas as well, but no matter where the ideas come from, having your child brainstorm with you will help to get their buy-in for these activities so they’re more interested when the time comes to participate in these activities.
Some Concluding Thoughts
When making this screen time plan, create it in a way that works for your family. Some children might remember the plan after discussing it, while others might be guided by a visual calendar.
In addition to establishing limits on screen time in your home, it’s important to consider the diversity of your media, the amount of individual versus family screen time, and to teach your child about digital citizenship. According to the University of Michigan, a good digital citizen uses digital resources responsibly, protects personal information, exercises appropriate discretion, and respects others. Common Sense has resources for teaching children from kindergarten to 12th grade about digital citizenship if you’re interested in diving deeper into this topic.
As you consider implementing a screen time plan, I want to encourage you to find what is best for your child and family. For some caregivers, considering the amount of screen time their child currently has is overwhelming. I suggest starting small, perhaps by adding just one priority to your daily routine (which will cut maybe an hour of screen time) or by considering just one aspect I discussed and circling back to the rest another time. You might also consider how your child reacts to screen time and how well they’re already able to self-regulate screen time.
As you create a personalized screen time plan, remember that every family is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Work to foster open communication with your child about screen time and you can empower them to eventually make their own healthy decisions around their screen usage.
Resources
COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA, David Hill, Nusheen Ameenuddin, Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, Corinn Cross, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Alanna Levine, Rhea Boyd, Robert Mendelson, Megan Moreno, Wendy Sue Swanson; Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics November 2016; 138 (5): e20162591. 10.1542/peds.2016-2591
Interested in booking a session with Rachel?
WRITTEN BY Rachel Esparze, LPC- Associate (she/her/hers)
Rachel Esparza is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate supervised by Jaclyn N. Sepp, MA, LPC-S, RPT-S™, NCC, RYT® 200 and Sheila Wessels, MEd, LPC-S, RPT-S™. Rachel is also working towards her Registered Play Therapist™ (RPT™) credential. At Texas State University, Rachel earned her Master’s degree in Professional Counseling (CACREP Accredited Program) and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She has experience working with children, adolescents, young adults, and families in community counseling settings.
