Fed up with your family spending all their time on screens? Wondering what happened to meaningful conversation over dinner and having fun together? You’re not alone! 60% of UK parents think their kids spend too much time on their phone at home. But, forever banishing all digital devices won’t help you win parent of the year, just some severe eye-rolling from your teens.
Let’s be honest, we can’t avoid our kids using screens. And we shouldn’t! University of Oxford research suggests that moderate screen time can actually enhance the well-being of teenagers. Especially, their creativity, communication skills and development. So, instead, think of screen time like junk food. Too much junk food is a bad idea. Junk food now and again? A treat we all enjoy. This is how we see digital detox – taking steps to find a healthy balance with our digital devices and encouraging temporary breaks from screens to ensure we’re not ‘binging’. Want to learn how to help your family switch off? We share why digital detox for kids is important, how to help them unplug and offer suggestions for phone-free family time.
Screens have the ability to act like pacifiers on young children and probing the subject of screen time with older kids and teens is tricky, but here’s why we need to start talking about digital detox:
To get started, try these digital detox strategies for fewer tantrums:
Whatever our age, we often scroll through our devices when we’re bored, or have nothing more exciting to do. Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives to screen time to ensure your kids don’t miss out on childhood fun and the creative learning that takes place away from digital devices.
Got a great idea for spending unplugged time as a family? We’d love to hear it! Our kids are blessed with the benefits of the internet, but it’s our job to help them understand when to switch off from the digital world, find balance and stay safe online. A family digital detox is a good excuse to get your own screen time in check too!
Our seasonal digital detox challenge is to put connection over consumerism this Christmas.
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