By Kayla DeKraker
Children’s constant screen use has been a growing problem in our society, but what would happen if parents decided enough is enough and simply removed their kids’ devices?
Mom Christina Dinur did just that when her young daughter wanted to stay home and play on her tablet instead of going to the park, and the result was pleasantly positive.
“She was simply refusing to go,” the mom-of-two told the Washington Post. “She just wanted to keep playing the games. And we were like, ‘Okay. Something needs to change here.’”
Though her girls weren’t happy when Dinur and her husband told them their screen time would be greatly minimized, their attitudes soon changed.
Related: Americans Use These Tools to Limit Their Screen Time
“We told them: ‘We have been learning more about how our brains work and how all of this time on screens isn’t necessarily the healthiest thing for our bodies.’ They were not excited about it at all. The first couple of days, there was a lot of pushback,” she admitted, “but then it was like a magical switch flipped.”
Pulling back from screens brought astounding results.
“They started playing together more, and I think for me that was just the biggest surprise of it,” she said. “My life as a parent got easier after we cut out the screens because we didn’t have any more conflicts over it, and the kids got better at entertaining themselves. Everything got easier. Which is not a message that people really hear that often. It went so well that we decided to make it permanent.”
Screen time minimization is a great idea, but it’s not a one-size-fits all. However, the habits your kids create when they’re young will impact them down the road.
“We have learned from these studies that the habits that you develop in your teenage and young adult years are typically the habits that continue through the rest of your life,” said Jason Nagata, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco.
The negative effects of screen time and social media are becoming increasingly prevalent.
Should Parents Make Their Children Go Screen Free?
A Pew Research article states, “Teens are growing more wary of social media for their peers. Roughly half of teens (48%) say these sites have a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022. But fewer (14%) think they negatively affect them personally.”
With all the risks, it seems like limiting screen time could be a good decision for parents as well as kids.
“It’s very important to understand — even though it may not feel like it — that it starts with the parent,” podcaster Mel Robins told Parents. “When we are always on our phones, or on our phones more than we’d like to be, it translates to our kids being that way. So the hard advice is that it starts with you.”
Will you be minimizing your child’s screen time?
Read Next: How to Help Your Children Manage Their Screen Time
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +1Share:
– Content: +3