3 Easy Tips For Reducing Screen Time For Kids
If you’re looking for easy tips for reducing screen time for your kids this summer, then keep reading! My simple tips can help you reduce up to 5 hours of TV a day!
Easy tips for reducing screen time are here, mama! Screen time is a hot topic for our kid’s generation. Are they watching too much TV? How does it affect their brain and behavior? Should they be watching TV or playing tablet games at all? Those are all questions, we as a moms of young kids have daily. If you need tips for reducing screen time then keep reading, mama!
We live in an age of technology and honestly, there is no way around completely ignoring it in my opinion. Heck, technology is a class our children have in school these days! There are pros and cons about it, of course, and when it comes to TV and tablets I’m all about moderation, just like anything else in life.
On a side note, I’m in no way judging any mom for the screen time use in her home. I know pediatricians recommend less than 2 hours of screen time a day, and we regularly go over that in our house. But I do think about ways to lessen screen time in our home as much as I can. If you’re wanting to start your journey to less screen time in your home, I suggest starting small. Don’t turn it off cold turkey, work towards less and less until you achieve the amount of screen time you want.
This blog is for you if:
- You have young children
- You often have the TV on
- You’re wondering if your kid’s behaviors are a result of screen time
- You really want to reduce screen time in your home
Easy Tips For Reducing Screen Time
If you’re wondering or asking yourself often, “how can I reduce screen time?” this is the blog for you! I’m giving you three seriously simple and practical tips to begin your journey to less screen time in your home. Read until the end to see just how many hours of screen time you can cut out in 1 day from these tips. And get some GREAT activity ideas to keep your kids entertained while the TV is off!
Tip 1 For Reducing Screen Time: No TV Before 9 AM
The first step to lessening screen time, is not allowing it in the early morning, especially before school. Our rule is no TV before school. This can lessen TV time by 1-2 hours a day! Plus TV is way too distracting in the morning, so it’s helpful to not have it on so your kids can listen and pay attention better. On weekends the rule is no TV until after breakfast. We all know weekends can get crazy and busy so rules may be bent a little.😉
I also have a blog with tips to make getting ready for school in the morning way easier! Read it HERE.
Tip 2 For Reducing Screen Time: No TV or Phones During Meal Times
I know many people who say their kids won’t eat unless they are watching TV. I’m here to say, please stop. Also I think that’s a miracle because my kids would never eat a meal with the TV on! LOL. We eat meals the old fashioned way: TV off, no phones, and we sit at the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner 99% of the time! Not only will this tip for reducing screen time lesson it by an hour or so….it also will help your child learn to sit at the table and eat their meal. Win-win!
Tip 3 For Reducing Screen Time: No TV After Dinner
Again, just like in the morning, winding down before bed with no TV on makes a world of difference! We started doing this more recently and it has made bedtime much simpler. By creating this rule, we turn the TV off between 5 and 5:30, until bedtime at 7. This makes eating dinner, taking baths, and getting ready for bed quicker. It again, lessens screen time by another 2 hours! My kids hated this rule when we started and I swear they “detoxed” this screen time part of the day for 2 or 3 days. They were cranky about it! But it got better, and they realized we had more time to spend together, read books, play games, or go outside for a bit. They settle into bed faster too and overall, their behavior is better.
Now here is the good part! If you use these easy tips for reducing screen time, you will lessen screen time in your home by, drum roll please……
Approximately 3 to 5 HOURS!
How amazing is that mama?! These are just little tweaks you can use daily to reduce your screen time each day. By using these tweaks, your kids are already watching 3 hours less TV each day. Imagine how many more hours you can cut out when you are out and about or when you go outside or even when your kids are just playing with their toys? You might be able to get down to only watching 1 or 2 shows a day!
Reminder: Will this be perfect everyday? Nope. Weekends are different. Rainy days are different. Sick days are different. And ultimately it’s all about BALANCE, my friend! If most days you are cutting down by 3 or 4 hours of screen time, then that is a win in my book! And for every rainy day when you watch too much TV, I almost guarantee there will be a day you watch close to no TV!
Now, if you’re needing some craft or activity ideas since you now have these easy tips for reducing screen time, you’ve come to the right place!
Check out these blogs below for some awesome and EASY activities (because I’m all about simple crafts you can do at home with supplies you probably already have!)
One more note:
I was talking to a local mom and educator friend, Marisa at Teaching Totes recently, and we were discussing the lack of fine motor skills kids have these days. Why? Well, can only guess…maybe it’s too much swiping, maybe it’s our busy lifestyles, heck maybe it’s even baby food pouches. We aren’t doctors or scientists so we can’t diagnose it, we can only observe our lives and hypothesize. BUT it made me want to help moms to help their children with this important skill. If you’re ready to help your child master their Fine Motor Skills, (while also reducing screen time😉) then check this out:
These activities are easy for you to put together for your child. They are great for a rainy day, a great “boredom buster,” and they are perfect for when you’re trying to reduce your screen time! Sign up now and get this PDF instantly to your inbox.
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