How I minimized screen time for my son
I am not here to give out parenting advice, I am a teacher and a mother of 2, but I’m no expert. However, like every parent I want what’s best for my children.
So what is screen time?
Screen time is the amount of time spent on media devices such as TV, mobile phones, computers, tablets, etc. We parents turn to these technological devices to keep our children “pre-occupied”. This is to keep them from crying or from climbing on the furniture and so on. I believe that screen time is too difficult to be eliminated but it can be minimized. So I thought I’d test my experience with my 4 year old son who spends his morning watching television while I finish house chores, etc… and sometimes in the evenings.
So this is what I did!
As a teacher, I like to write and plan everything down. So I told Kareem to sit next to me. I asked him what activities he would like to do. I estimated the time for each activity. I am not timing him, I am just estimating. However, each activity can not go for less than 15 minutes. So these activities have to cover the whole day. There will be interruptions, like going somewhere or playing with his sister. So here’s what we decided on:
Activity 1: Play with transformers ( 20 Minutes)
Activity 2: Writing ( 30 minutes)
Activity 3: LEGO (30 minutes)
Activity 4: Play soccer outside ( 15 minutes)
Activity 5: Read a book (15 minutes)
Activity 6: Play with cars ( 20 minutes)
Activity 7: Water the plants (15 minutes)
Activity 8: Colouring ( 15 minutes)
They don’t have to be in order, let your child decide when to stop. However each activity cannot be less than 15 minutes. Otherwise, all the activities will be done in less than an hour and we don’t want that to happen right? 🙂
Next, it was lego time, I estimated 30 minutes but it took around 50 minutes, which was awesome.
It is very important to choose a variety of activities. So, after doing some really quiet activities, I told him to play soccer to get him moving a little. Don’t choose a lot of quiet activities and not very active activities at the same time. Try to vary.
45 minutes later, after spending some time in the backyard and playing with his neighbour, he came back inside and told him to choose another activity. He chose colouring and asked me for a batman colouring page. I do have a printer at home which is a plus. If you don’t, there are heaps of colouring books at many stores like, Big W, Kmart or Target.
He stayed colouring for around 40 minutes, had lunch. Then I told him he can watch television for 30 minutes. To be honest, he barely watched anything, while the tv was on he was playing with his toys. So basically he didn’t really have any screen time which was a plus!!
It was time to water his plant, a strawberry plant to be specific. We also got to spend some time in the backyard.
It was 4:00 pm, and he went to play at his cousin’s place then we went some grocery shopping. We were back at 7:00 pm. He asked me to colour instead of playing with his cars which was written down on our activity list. Ofcourse, I wasn’t going to say no. So, I printed a new colouring sheet. He was so into it and I had no idea he had any interest in colouring until that day. It’ amazing how less screentime made me discover that my son has a new hobby, which is colouring!
At 8:00 pm, we read a bedtime story and it was time to sleep.
All I can say is, minimising screentime for my son was a huge success! You don’t have to be present at all the activities. All you have to do is, PLAN YOUR DAY! Have them choose what they want to do. Choose 8 to 9 activities and estimate the time. Check on them every once in a while. IF they have sibling that they can play with, in my opinion that is a plus! You can arrange a few activities that they can do on their own, and other actvities where they can play together, like a sports game for instance. I had so many parents telling me that their son or daughter doesn’t have any hobby and is not interested in any activity whatsoever. Well, that’s because they are spending all of their time on their ipad that they don’t know what they are interested in. And this my friends, makes me sad.
I am not saying to completely stop screentime as it is kind of impossible in the world we are living today, but you can REDUCE it!
Reducing screentime improves sleeping habits, reduces anxiety and stress, lets you stay focused and be innovative and creative. Don’t you all want that for your children? We all want what’s best! Start today! Don’t delay it, it makes a huge difference!