This place has been a blessing to my family. We come from Aurora and don’t mind the drive. The whole staff and the DR are very knowledgeable and helpful. This is our first baby and in great hands.
As the summer months roll in and school structure fades, many kids turn to screens for entertainment. While digital devices can offer educational benefits, excessive screen time can lead to various issues. Studies have shown that too much screen time is linked to school problems, anger, emotional issues, depression, frustration, and aggression. Over-stimulation from screens can cause kids to have poor focus and deplete their mental energy, often leading to explosive behavior.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides clear guidelines on screen time:
– Children under 18 to 24 months: Avoid screens entirely, except for video chatting with family.
– Children ages 2 – 5: Limit screen time to one hour a day of high-quality programming.
– Children ages 6 and older: Set consistent limits and firm boundaries, such as screen-free meal times and bedrooms.
How can you tell if your child is hooked on their screens? Here are some signs:
– First and Last Thing: Their device is the first thing they see in the morning and the last thing before bed.
– Lack of Other Activities: They have few other activities they enjoy or participate in. ⚽️
– Withdrawal Symptoms: They exhibit anger and temper tantrums when asked to turn off the device.
– Health Impacts: You notice back pain and strained eyes.
It’s not just the amount of screen time that matters; the content is crucial too. Educate your child on online safety, including the dangers of scammers, hackers, and cyberbullies, and the emotional impact of inappropriate content. Monitor what your kids are watching, and make sure you know the access codes for their devices. Consider using apps and services to control screen time and keep bedrooms a no-screen zone to remove the temptation of late-night screen use.
– High-Quality Content: Show that screen time can be both entertaining and enriching with channels like National Geographic, PBS Kids, or the Smithsonian.
– Parental Engagement: Watch content together to build stronger connections and engage with your kids.
– Lead by Example: Limit your own screen time and make sure you’re not tuning out your kids.
Dealing with screen time rage involves consistency, clear expectations, and follow-through:
– Establish Rules: Set regular screen-time hours and stick to them.
– Countdown Warnings: Give a 15-minute warning before screen time ends, followed by five-minute increments. ⏳
– Reward/Penalty System: Use a system where positive behavior can earn more screen time, and outbursts can result in reduced screen time. ❌
– Avoid Arguments: Do not engage in arguments about the rules when it’s time to turn off the screen.
– Automatic Limits: Use apps or services to automatically limit screen time or shut down Wi-Fi access at certain times.
Limiting screen time and keeping kids’ minds engaged is crucial during the summer. Before smartphones were prevalent, kids were already losing about one month on a grade-level equivalent scale during summer breaks. Excessive screen time is linked to increased ADHD symptoms, developmental delays, and poor academic performance.
– Outdoor Activities: Encourage playing outside, sports, and other physical activities. ♀️ ♂️
– Creative Pursuits: Promote reading, arts and crafts, and hobbies.
– Social Interaction: Arrange playdates and family outings.
Parents are pivotal in managing screen time by setting boundaries and modeling healthy behaviors. Collaboration among caregivers, educators, and healthcare professionals is essential to mitigate risks associated with excessive screen time. Together, we can help ensure a balanced and healthy summer for our kids!
Let’s work together to ensure a balanced and healthy summer for our kids!
Additional Resources
The quotes in these images are from a fantastic podcast for parents to listen to called “Summer Unplugged: Navigating Screen Time and Finding Balance for Kids” featuring great insight from Dr. Michael Rich, pediatrician and director of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/edcast/24/04/summer-unplugged
This place has been a blessing to my family. We come from Aurora and don’t mind the drive. The whole staff and the DR are very knowledgeable and helpful. This is our first baby and in great hands.
Jessica is the absolute BEST! We brought our newborn daughter to Well-Rooted days after she was born for her first appointment with Jessica and she took excellent care of her/us. Extremely informative and made us feel very comfortable with any questions we had. We are very confident in our choice with Well-Rooted and are going to continue to see Jessica as long as we live in the area. Highly recommended!
I’m so grateful we found this practice, I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone looking a new pediatrician. Their facility is spotless, their technology is wonderful, and most importantly their doctors take time in answering your questions and provide so much insight and knowledge to the medical care of your kids. Thank you Well Rooted Pediatrics!!!
We love this office! Jessica was the first practitioner to tell me about sublingual therapy allergy drops for environmental allergies. I had 3 out of 4 of my kids suffer from extreme eczema. Daily itching, bleeding, open wounds. Other doctors and allergist just told me to keep putting lotion on because it was due to dry skin. Believe me when I say I lathered my kids multiple times a day and tried every natural product out there and it didn’t help! Steroid cream was the only thing that was able to calm it down but it would come right back once we stopped using it. Well, a year into the allergy drops and my kids have beautiful eczema free skin! No more tears, no more fear of swimming pools and fear of infections. All thanks to the wonderful providers at Well-Rooted Pediatrics!! They truly care and think outside the box to get to the root of the problem. I am forever grateful for them!
Jessica and her staff at Well Rooted Pediatrics are very friendly and accommodating. We were welcomed with a smile and Jessica is very knowledgeable and thorough. Awesome practice!
