Drop Those Screens: Tips to Ruduce Children’s Screen Time

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Parents, guardians, and teachers all understand the importance of activity and engagement in the development of our youth. Today, children face a new challenge; technology. Namely, that means reducing screen time for kids. Here is a look at a few good ways of how to reduce screen time for children and keep them on track to live a healthy and balanced life.

Regular Playtime

2 women playing soccer on green grass field during daytime

Photo by Spikeball on Unsplash

People are creatures of habit. Creating a regular playtime for our kids that involves non-electronic activity will help them learn healthy habits. That might look like an hour with their favorite toys or reading and coloring, but keep it engaging. If your child is doing something they like, they are going to be more easily inclined to develop natural habits.

Get Up and Get Out

In today’s fitness-conscious world, the benefits of getting active are no longer a secret to anyone. That also means this is a great opportunity for kids and parents to get active. 

A walk through your local park or perhaps a stroll through the historic downtown of a local city can be the adventure of the day. Biking or nature walks are also great ideas to get kids active with their mom and dad. This is a good way of reducing screen time for kids and adults.

Game Night

While it seems that virtually every game is available online, there is nothing like a game night with siblings or the family. Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, and Pictionary are not the same games when played online.

Set aside one night (or maybe two if everyone loves it) a week for game night. The banter, conversation, and moments experienced will provide healthy habits and memories for a lifetime.

Reducing Screen Time for Kids 

There are many ways of how to reduce screen time for children. The answer to that question is also only limited by your imagination. For many parents, having children help with cooking or cleaning is an effective way of reducing screen time for kids. Additionally, it is a proven way to teach children values and to help them stay active.

Reducing screen time for kids today means more than keeping them from watching too much television. In fact, television is often the least likely suspect in our world of mobile technology. Keeping our kids active, engaged, and living a life outside of their screens isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.