By Kayla DeKraker
A new study finds that 80% of parents are concerned about their children’s screen time. But what exactly about their screen use worries parents?
“The top three fears parents have around their child and screen time are: privacy and safety concerns (47%), exposure to misinformation (36%) and not socializing in person (34%). Fewer parents ranked concerns around body image and schoolwork high on their list,” a study from the Kid’s Mental Health Foundation found.
Mom Xia Chekwa wants to protect her kids from seeing something before they’re ready.
“My biggest concerns with screens are making sure that my kids don’t get exposed to things before I’m ready for them to and making sure that people aren’t trying to contact them,” she explained. “They’re aware that not everywhere is a safe place, not everything is a safe thing to watch.”
Parent need to be involved in their kids’ tech use because children don’t understand the possible dangers.
“When it comes to screen time, we can’t expect kids to set their own limits and boundaries because this technology is made to keep us using it,” said Ariana Hoet, executive clinical director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation.
She also emphasized the importance of paying attention to what children are doing on their devices.
“As parents, we have to pay attention to how much they are using technology — what they are consuming on it, what are they doing with it, and who are they interacting with through various platforms of games or social media,” she said.
Hoet says the most important thing parents can do is be involved in their children’s use of screens.
“Sit with them, watch how they use it, ask them questions, be engaged. And not only does that help your child feel like, oh, you’re interested in me and what I’m doing, but it helps you learn as the parent or caregiver,” she said.
The foundation also provides a list of things parents can look out for to determine if screen time is becoming a problem.
Related: 5 Tips to Help Your Child Manage Their Screen Time
Some warnings of overuse include losing track of time, being preoccupied or distracted, isolation of oneself, irritability, physical signs such as changes in eating and sleeping habits and a negative impact on offline activities.
These issues can be resolved by setting up safe screen time boundaries such as checking in with your child about their screen use, not allowing screens before bed or in bedrooms and encouraging healthy physical activity.
Screen time isn’t going away, but parents can be involved, set boundaries and encouraging healthy activities to protect children from the dangers of too much screen time. These limits will help them now and in the future.
Read Next: Can Screen Time Be a Good Thing? It’s Complicated
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