Summertime Screentime Hacks

Summers finally here! The stresses and strains of daily school are finally over and kids now have time to relax and enjoy summer. This lengthy period of time out of school is a great way for parents and kids to take that long awaited vacation. Or for kids to enroll in some exceptionally cool and unique summer camps which has become
an increasingly popular thing over the years.

Some kids however see the summer as a time to indulge in the maximum amount
of screen time as soon as school is out to the time they go back for the new school year. It can for some parents pose as a real challenge creating a happy medium between unplugging and plugging the gaming consoles, smartphones and tablets these days.

Here are a few tips that you could implement to create some healthy habits for your kids:

1. Have open discussions with your kids about technology usage and your expectations of them during the summer. For example encouraging kids to help out with various chores such as cleaning their rooms, helping with their laundry and reading time before they can go online or watch TV.
2. Give children choices of different activities that don’t involve screen time and allow them to pick other things they would enjoy doing instead. This way you are encouraging better choices through independent thinking.
3. Set time limits on screen time for the day with your kids input so that they are also informed about the amount of time they can be on a devices.
   
4. And finally despite the pleas of “ can I have 5 more minutes!” or “please I’m in the middle of a game!” try not to give in and stick to the rules that you have discussed with the kids. Otherwise you may find that the rules you started out with for them are gone before the end of the summer.

Creating healthy technology limits for kids early in their lives is so important. By doing so parents can prevent future issues for kids such as gaming and screen time addictions.

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