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Helping Your Family Reduce Their Screen Time

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Does your family spend quality time together? Unfortunately, more and more families are finding that they’re glued to their screens, and aren’t really interacting with each other. Besides the social element, too much screen time can lead to difficulty focusing and problems sleeping as well as develop some bad habits. The good news is, these habits can be broken.

Want to regain the balance in your household? Here are some tips for helping your family to reduce their screen time.

Set a good example

Parents’ own behavior when it comes to electronics can make a big difference in how the rest of the family behaves. If you’re always seen on your phone or tablet, your kids will think this is normal behavior and do the same. Try to limit your phone use as much as possible around your kids, especially when you’re eating dinner or watching TV. Put your device in another room if you need to and simply enjoy focusing on one thing at a time.

Lay some ground rules

Some boundaries are good to have with your children, and some rules could help your kids to limit their screen time and make sure they make time for homework, chores and other activities. You can have a cut-off time for electronics, and even have device-free nights to help restore some balance. You can even set screen time limits on devices using the best parental control app, which allows you to set all sorts of parameters to encourage healthy device and internet use. You need to be tough with these rules to make sure that they’re stuck to.

Encourage other activities

There’s more to life than phones and computers, and you can help your child to see that. Encourage your kids to exercise more by doing activities as a family, or help them get into sports at school. Doing more as a family such as going for walks and family days out will help provide a good distraction for you all and help you spend quality time together. Even getting the kids involved in cooking dinner could be a good way for you all to enjoy some family time and develop some healthy new habits.

Get a pet

While having a pet is a big responsibility, it can be a great thing for your family and bring you all closer together. Instead of playing on their phones and other devices, you and your kids will be more interested in playing with your pet. A dog makes a fantastic addition to your home and can help you enjoy some long family walks and the chance to spend time more time together. While there’s a lot to consider before you get a pet, it could be a wonderful thing for your family.

Cutting down on screen time can lead to healthier habits, but you don’t need to cut it out altogether. Provided you can limit screen time to a healthy amount, there’s no need to go overboard and prohibit devices altogether. Focus on enjoying time as a family and soon you won’t be missing those screens.

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