Screen-time in 2020

As school starts back up, we’re faced with unique challenges amid Covid19. Whether our children are attending school, doing homeschool, or something in-between, it’s likely they will be doing more learning on a screen than ever before. We also have fewer social activities available to us this year as social distancing continues. So how do we help our children live balanced lives in these circumstances? Two things come to mind.

First, the basic need to limit the screen-time our children engage with at home. Our children need screen-time boundaries, and that need has only increased in 2020. One simple strategy to establish some screen-time boundaries is by having a designated time each day that our children are allowed to be on a screen. For example, if 4-5pm is the designated time each day, then after 5pm leisure screen-time is off limits. Another idea more suited for older children is to have required activities that children need to complete before being on a screen for leisure. These activities might include physical exercise, homework, chores, or music practice. Setting up clear rules or boundaries for our family screen-time use will allow and encourage children to do other activities. Doing our best to establish healthy boundaries with screens will also prevent a host of other problems that come with excessive screen-time. (Important! None of us are going to be perfect at applying healthy screen-time boundaries. As a parent, I know there are days where I am barely functioning and way below my “A game.” In light of this, it’s important that I’m not too hard on myself or my children. So, instead of focusing on always hitting a quota, I encourage looking at ways to improve as we work toward a baseline of healthy living in our home!)

The second thing is to focus on finding activities outside of the screen. When screen-time limits are clear and our children see us putting energy into activities and resources outside the screen, then our children will follow our lead . . . eventually;). In focusing on activities outside the screen, I hope we will all be willing to try new things. As Covid19 has compelled us to adapt to new things, our home is no exception. (As I write this, my seven year old is asking for help with a watercolor painting not quite going her way. Not sure I can be of much help, but it’s worth a try!) Hopefully, a new medium of art never looked so appealing as it does now. So my encouragement . . . give it a shot! What’s the worst that can happen? The house gets a bit more colorful? . . . Okay, well, what’s the best that can happen? . . . Creativity is sparked, a lifelong hobby is discovered, or a budding artist finds something they love! Let’s not stop with art! Did you know it’s actually very doable to do heart pumping, sweat-inducing workouts right at home? If you can manage to find a space only as big as an empty hallway, you can do a terrific workout! You don’t need any equipment to start. If your exercise floor is hard and unforgiving, you can get very comfy exercise mats to create a better work-out environment. To add variety to your workouts, you can purchase low-cost items such as stretchy bands, jump ropes, exercise balls, or floor sliders. The bottom line is that we need to keep active to be healthy. As we face unique and challenging circumstances during this 2020-2021 school year, our children will likely need some additional help knowing how they can remain active. My experience has been that limiting screen-time naturally leads children to physical activities. However, if we find our children are struggling with being cooped up inside or need a spark to get them motivated, then try some of the in-home exercise resources listed below.  

Indoor Exercise Ideas for Children

Zumba, Dance, Yoga

For each of these, I actually recommend YouTube Kids. A simple search such as “zumba for kids” or “yoga for kids” will bring up a host of helpful, fun videos to follow along with. (Make sure the search function is turned on in your YouTube Kids parental controls.)