Screen time has become an integral part of our lives, especially for children. With the rise of smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices, it’s no wonder that kids are spending more time in front of screens than ever before. However, excessive screen time can have negative effects on children’s health and development. In this blog post, we will discuss some strategies to help minimize children’s screen time and encourage healthier alternatives.
If you think “screen time is absolutely not allowed at home” and can stick with that without any stress for both parents and children, I think that is fine. But if that idea is giving all of you too much stress, you probably need a new strategy with your “screen time rule.” I personally believe it is fine as long as they have a decent amount of screen time overall.
I personally believe it is fine as long as they have decent amount of screen time overall.
Honestly, I did not limit screen time for a few years for my boys. I personally think it is okay if we have a decent amount of screen time overall. You might feel guilty about letting them watch TV for hours, but if that is the way you deal with all your housework, any other tasks you have to do, or even to give you a little self-time, why not? There must be times you need screen time once in a while. I had very bad morning sickness with both boys. For Y, I was literally lying on a couch the whole day, and E was watching TV for hours in her first month of pregnancy. During the pandemic, TV was on the whole day, and E and Y were going back and forth between playing and watching TV. I was feeling bad sometimes, but I now think I just needed that to make it work at that time. I maybe should not rely on screens all the time, but I look at them as one of the tools we can rely on when needed. As long as you can control it in the long term, I personally think it is okay. Just try to ensure that screen time is limited to a reasonable duration and only during designated periods. This will help children develop a healthy relationship with technology and prevent excessive use.
Get a daily routine set to control/limit screen time.
One effective way to control and limit screen time is by establishing a daily routine. Set specific time slots for activities such as homework, chores, outdoor play, and screen time. By having a structured schedule, children will have a clear understanding of when it’s appropriate to use electronic devices.
We are able to limit screen time for my boys because there is a daily routine for everyone, and it is pretty settled. During weekdays, as soon as we get home from school or work in the afternoon, E starts his homework for Japanese language school and then for his local elementary school. Our TV rule is that they can watch TV as long as E finishes his assigned homework for that day before their bedtime. First, I was the one asking E if he had finished his homework. Now, Y is the one who asks E if he finishes his homework because Y knows he cannot watch TV until E finishes his homework. In general, they cannot even watch TV at all just because they run out of time. When E is working on his homework, Y reads or plays by himself. Meanwhile, I cooked dinner, and it is now working out for everyone.
Encourage screen-free activities
It’s important to provide children with alternative activities that don’t involve screens. Engaging in screen-free activities not only helps minimize screen time but also promotes creativity, physical activity, and social interaction.
Let’s say you are at home with your children. Honestly, I think watching TV, playing games with tablets, or doing any screen activities is one of the easiest ways to spend time with your children, mainly because there is nothing much parents have to do for those activities. Like I said in the beginning, I let my boys watch TV a whole day because I did not feel like doing anything with days being stuck at home and not being able to do activities outside during the pandemic. Yes, I was just exhausted physically and emotionally. However, I did my best to do some screen-free activities at home with my boys whenever I could. After the activities, I was physically exhausted but not emotionally. I felt accomplished by how we spent a very productive and fun time all together. Let me introduce some at-home activities we enjoyed!
Post-it alphabet scavenger hunt game
This is such a fun game because you can do a scavenger hunt and learn alphabets at the same time! Write one alphabet letter on one piece of Post-it. You can let your child try writing them as well! It is now time to hide all the Post-it with the letters everywhere! The harder, the better (in terms of having your own time while your kids are looking for all the letters!). Well, you do not want your kids to get tired of looking for all the letters, so pick the place based on your children’s ages and patience level. Of course, you can look for them together. After finding all the letters, you can let your children put the letters in order. We tried both alphabets and also Hiragana (Japanese)!
Carton art
Cartons are not hard to find these days, with all the boxes for diapers, all the deliveries from Amazon, and so on. My boys loved making robots, but of course you can make pretty much ANYTHING you want! We made not only robots but also shields, swords, houses, and so on.
We can also draw on them! Just to avoid too much mess, we did lots of drawing time outside when the weather was nice.
We made a shelf for our stuffy animals since we did not have any! I cut them and put them on the wall. My boys ripped color papers to pieces and glued them to the shelf.
We had a few trains and their rails, but not enough to make a big rail. We decided to make a half of the rail with a carton so we could make a big rail for the trains! The boys were super happy with the extra rail!
Making a fort
I believe having a fort is one of the children’s dreams! We used a couple of trash bags and taped them together to make one big piece of sheet. Boys put their favorite characters on the sheet, and we hang it in the corner of a room. They were able to enjoy their little space, which made them feel so special!
Reading books
As simple as this may sound, reading is fantastic! Encourage your child to develop a love for reading by providing them with age-appropriate books. Set aside dedicated reading time where they can explore different genres and expand their knowledge. We have recently come to appreciate the presence of libraries in our community. Our local libraries have a large collection of literature written in Japanese as well. Our children are thrilled to be able to read many books in Japanese. If they get a series of books, kids might be looking forward to reading the next episodes. Before reading, they might enjoy imagining what is going to happen in the next few episodes. Reading is amazing; it not only develops reading and understanding skills but also expands all the possibilities for your children’s imagination.
Playing outside
Outdoor play is essential for children’s physical and mental well-being. Encourage them to spend time outdoors, engaging in activities such as biking, playing sports, or simply exploring nature. This may sound simple too, but even walking outside could turn out to be an adventure with your kids. Go walking, running, biking, hiking, playing basketball, playing soccer, and any other sports. It is literally limitless what you can do outside with your children. In our area, there are many trails where we can hike, and my boys love hiking. Looking at the funny shape of a tree makes them laugh; any insects excite them; any funny sound makes them curious; and so on. In one summer, we just made a list of playgrounds, and we went to every one of them. Some of them were boring, some of them were just okay, and the rest of them were awesome, and these awesome parks are today’s go-to parks for us. It rains a lot in our area, but it is actually nice walking outside in the rain with umbrellas or in raincoats with your children’s favorite boots. Besides all the excitement and fun, you can also get good workouts! Sometimes it is just so hard to get out of your house with children. Yes, I hear you. Going out sometimes makes you exhausted. But you might feel pretty (nakanaka) amazing afterwards. It is worth a try!
Playing board/card games
Board and card games are not only fun but also help develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and social skills. Set aside regular game nights where the whole family can participate.
Our favorite game is “Mexican Train Dominoes.”. This game is so addicting, even for my boys. We played it over and over on New Year’s Eve, and that was their first time they stayed up until midnight playing the game and then ended up doing a countdown with us. You do not have to play dominoes, but pick a game, learn it, and play it all together. It could be so much fun, and your children might ask to play more every night. Depending on your children’s ages, you can start with simple games or ones that are more complex.
Of course, there is some extra screen time during weekends and holidays, but this is our daily routine settled and seems to be working out perfectly. The boys are sticking with their screen time rule. We might have to update our screen time as they grow up and our daily routine or schedule changes. I want my boys to understand why we make rules and how we all agree with the rules we decide because we are a team.
