I don’t know a parent out there who isn’t looking for ways to limit their kid’s screen time. No matter how hard you try to leave iPads, iPhones, computers and video games at bay, kids find them. Take away their phones and they find a way to stream games on their school-provided iPad. Hide the iPad at the back of your closet and lo and behold, they find it. It’s a constant battle in any household with parents who want to put limits on their kid’s tech activities.

We all know the dangers of excessive screen time. Research indicates that internet addiction is associated with structural and functional changes in brain regions associated with emotional processing, executive attention, decision making and cognitive control. Even children who are not addiction per se have been observed to be impulsive, moody and lacking concentration.

In short, experts basically agree that we should limit screen time as much as possible allowing our kids to talk, play, and ideally. Easier said than done, right parents?

Our household is stricter than many when it comes to tech, yet as my kids have gotten older controlling how much time they spend playing games has proved more and more challenging with each passing year. Today’s video is about what we’ve done in my household to try to place limits on screen time. Weigh in with what happens in your household.

Easy Ways to Limit Screen Time

Some simple ways we’ve used to limit screen time include: asking children to place iPhones in our bathroom when they get home from school or an activity and monitoring them during homework time by asking them to do homework in public areas and sneaking up on them and checking that they are not watching videos or playing games instead of actually doing the homework. Yup!  For more tips, watch my video!

Things to do Instead of Screen Time

As I expand upon in my video, instead of screen time, try encouraging your kids to read, board games, and even watching a good movie together. Anything is better than just sheer video games they play on their own.

Video games can be creative for kids so I’m not saying they are all wrong. I am saying, though, that if your household is anything like mine, you can do with fewer video games and more time reading, talking, and pitching in with bed-making and doing dishes.

Watch my video for more tips and thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching,

Melissa