Balancing Screen Time at Home for Kids

At SFS, we strive to help our students develop each of the learner profiles. Balance is understanding the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for yourself and others.

Our students are navigating a digital world and both teachers and parents are wondering how can we help our students balance their screen use, game time and social media? Here is some helpful information and tools to help your child develop balance in their own life.

Recommendations for Screen Usage from American Academy of Pediatrics

• For ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and how it applies to the world around them.

• For children ages 6 and older, place consistent limits on the time spent using media and the types of media. Parents should make sure that media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.

• Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.

• Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.

Source: Huffpost

Image source: Children's Hospital of Orange County

Which media is appropriate for my child?

Not sure if that new game is right for your child? Wondering about the content in the latest Marvel movie? Check out Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in the world of media and technology. They provide independent ratings and reviews for almost everything kids want to watch, read, play and learn. Parents also give reviews as well as children.

What tools are available to help me set limits on my child's device?

• Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch
• Set up parental controls on a Mac
• Top 4 ways to set parental controls in Android for kids
• Qustodio: Can help manage PC, works on all devices

Creating a Family Media Plan

Media should work for you and work within your family values and parenting style. When media is used thoughtfully and appropriately, media can enhance daily life. But when used inappropriately or without thought, media can displace many important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime & sleep.

By creating a Personalized Family Media Use Plan, you can be aware of when you are using media to achieve your purpose. The tool below will help you to think about media, creating a family plan of rules that are in line with your family’s values.

Click on Family Media Plan Tool to create your own family's plan.

Source: Healthychildren.org

Printable Version of Family Media Agreement from Common Sense Media