Maybe I am harping on this a little too much. But I do not think so. I believe that screens are detrimental to the healthy development of human brains. It seems that the American Academy of Pediatrics agress with me. But too my surprise, it seems that a lot of parents agree too. In a recent article in the NY Times, Bruce Feiler surveyed parents about what they do about their kids screen time. He found that the majority of parents have rules governing their kids screens. Here sre some of the things he learned in his survey of parents and some of my suggestions added in.

1. Parents need to be examples and put their phones down. More and more we are all becoming addicted to our screens.
2. Delay getting a first phone until kids really need it. You may need your child to get a phone by the time they are in middle school for communication needs. But it does not have to be a smart phone. It can be a dumb phone to call and text only.
3. When your child gets a phone or tablet, set up strict rules for them. No internet during the school week, and only 1 hour a day of screen time! Set up a contract and monitor use from the start. Yes, you will be a mean parent but you will be in the majority with other parents.
4. Homework needs to be safeguarded. Yes, more homework is online. But other communication and apps need to be limited to decrease distraction. Have kids do homework in common areas. Check in on them. Your presence turns off cheating on rules. And no social media during homework time.
5. No phone use 1 hour before bedtime. Screen use has been shown to hinder normal sleep patterns. Also communication through texting interrupts sleep. Check phones into a common charge area at night so phones are charged for daytime when you need to communicate.
6. Make rules for teens that they must answer your calls or texts within three tries. The excuse about not having reception is no excuse. You need to be able to reach them.
7. Meal times should be screen free times. Eat together and talk.
8. Limit social media accounts. Younger kids do not need facebook, snapchat and other accounts. Each account drains time from your child. Use a common ipad for their accounts so you can monitor what is going on.
9. Punish kids with device removal. Check in regularly. Adjust house rules as you need to. Read some random texts. Read them aloud to embarass them. These are ways to have some control of what they do in this open arena we call the internet.
10. Family time is very important. Interaction is the only antidote to screen time. Have game nights. Cook together.  Get outdoors together. Have parent-child date nights. Any fun you can have without the screens is good fun and interactive fun.
11. Don’t give up the fight. Screens are a privilege for kids to have not a right for them to have. You have control and pay for the screens. Turn off your router if you must.         Good luck!