One of the issues I see come up a lot is that children react badly when we tell them to turn off their screen. Little kids throw tantrums, cry, scream and throw things. Big kids throw tantrums, beg for more time, storm off and cry. None of it is any fun for us parents.
So first things first, it’s ok for it not to be fun for parents. That’s part of the job. It’s a really hard part of the job, and for those of us who were raised to keep everyone happy, it’s a really, really hard part of the job.
But it is an important part of the job – so here is a plan to make it easier.
Give your kids a time limit to start with, or a count down to the end. For younger kids, you’re going to have to do the countdown, and if they don’t understand time, then give them something to mark it by – the end of the episode etc.
Now here’s the important and taxing part – have something else for your kids to do. It’s really hard to be told to stop watching a show or playing a game. Even for adults, this is hard. So do the work of choosing an activity for them to do next. Have a drawing to do, game or toys for them to play with, even a table to set. Just don’t leave them without direction. It’s really hard to find direction after you’ve been entertained.
Now I’m not saying you have to play with your kids, just have toys to play with, something for them to do. I promise, in most of the cases, they will get invovled in something else and be happy.
And finally, be a role model yourself. Try it – turn off the tv and make some art, write something, cook, recognize the importance of a replacement activity if you want to use technology less.
I’ll talk more in another post about long term reduction of technology use – but for now, small steps are good steps.
