7 tips so children don’t exceed screen time

Dialogue not only implies talking but also listening to the other person. Many times we believe that we have good communication with our children because we talk a lot with them. For our communication to be effective we must not only speak but also listen and try to understand the point of view of our children. This applies to the use of technology and day to day conversation. In this way, we will achieve adequate coexistence and an environment of respect that will favour compliance with rules and limits.

There are several investigations that show that excessive use of screens, especially before sleeping, can cause sleep problems. Specifically, it can make it difficult for children to fall asleep, as well as to get up. We must not forget that the hours of sleep at the age of our children are very important for their development. Therefore, insufficient sleep and especially in an interrupted way can affect their behaviour and mood, sometimes becoming more restless or irritable.

Today children use electronic devices as a tool; therefore, they need the guidance of adults to ensure this done in the most appropriate way, as well as being able to continue with their online learning. For this reason, it is important to establish clear and precise limits regarding connection time, and above all to be consistent in applying these limits. During this particular period, children are using screens for long periods of time and therefore it is recommended that the rest of the time their use be limited to the bare minimum. We must be aware that we are not going to make our children go without screens all day; however, it is not healthy that due to the current situation they have improper or exaggerated use of them. Remember that all extremes are negative, both the excess of limits and the absence of them.

Try not to become obsessed or overwhelmed if your children spend more time playing or in front of screens. It is necessary to establish routines, schedules and limits for our children according to their age, but we must also understand that the days are not linear, so both our children and ourselves can have ups and downs. We must ensure this does not become a daily occurrence.

Spending part of the leisure time searching the Internet, playing video games or watching television is not a problem unless children spend too much time doing it, leaving aside other leisure activities that they previously enjoyed. Therefore, it is important to promote other types of activities according to the preferences of your children (physical activity, painting, reading, board games, etc.). These activities are also useful as they contribute to the personal development of your children.

Children learn and incorporate new behaviours and attitudes by observing what other people do, especially those who are close or important to them. Therefore, we must be the model of the behaviours and attitudes that we want our children to adopt. This implies that there must be coherence between what we say to our children and the same actions we take, even regarding the time we spend in front of screens.

Our children are at a stage where the social area becomes more important. In this way, allocating some time from the daily routine of our children, to maintain contact with grandparents, uncles, cousins and friends, is an opportunity for them to continue developing their social skills. For this, technology is currently of great help.