6 Tips to Help Your Balance Your Children’s Summer Screentime

The pandemic forced many parents into screentime management Bootcamp. We learned quickly that more hours at home require more intention in managing family technology. The exact purpose holds true for summer. Before things get too crazy—vacations, camps, and a revolving door of friends—a priority might be putting a screentime plan in place.  

Add to the summer equation that many parents are still on remote or hybrid work schedules, and the need for a summer screentime plan becomes even more important.

But first, what’s the cost of just winging it with screentime this summer? Doing so could harm your child both emotionally and physically. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children spend an average of seven hours a day on entertainment media, such as televisions, computers, phones, and other electronic devices. Now that summer is here, we can assume that number will increase.

Balancing your child’s screentime is also a safety issue. As the summer ticks on, boredom can lead to more time online, which can open the door to threats such as cyberbullying, self-esteem and body issues, risky behavior, and connecting with strangers.

Keep in mind that every family’s summer screentime balance plan will be different depending on family schedules and children’s ages. Not sure where to begin? The AAP has an excellent, customizable Media Plan that includes a Screen Time Calculator. The guide will help you design a plan based on the ages of each child in your family.  

6 Tips to Help You Balance Screentime

1. Inventory Activities and Discuss Limits. Bring the whole family into the screen time discussion. What does an average day look like in your home? What activities can each person dream up outside of television, gaming, or social media? Where are the daily windows where consistent family time can happen? What kind of limits would be ideal? Discuss ways to keep one another accountable and a fun way to track success and consequences.  
2. Have plenty of non-screen activities ready.  One way to keep kids off their screens, is  offering them interesting options that outrank what’s happening on their devices. Consider, as a family, creating a list of at-home and on-the-go activities. Consider a trip to the lake, the beach, or a local museum. You might learn a new craft or pick a home project to complete (a bedroom makeover) together. Maybe try your hand at making pasta from scratch or growing your own vegetables. Activities don’t have to be pricey; often, simple is better. Whatever your list contains, remember: An idea is a dream without a real plan and taking real time to make it happen. 
3. Know where they go, what they see. As you know, at McAfee, we are front-line advocates of family filtering software. The content your kids consume this summer matters. Understanding the social networks and apps your kids frequent is key to keeping them safe this summer. The time and effort you spend establishing screen limits don’t matter much if the content your child views isn’t age-appropriate. A few questions to help assess content: 
   1. Is the content age-appropriate? Are the apps my child uses interactive and learning-based or mind-numbing, or even risky? 
   2. Do my family’s technology habits require filtering software to help block inappropriate websites? 
   3. Are the privacy settings on social media and gaming accounts set to restrict what strangers can see and who can send a direct message to my child?
4. Maintain a device curfew. Just because it’s summer, doesn’t mean anything goes. Consider keeping many of the same device rules in place. A device curfew in the summer months is more critical since kids like to take their devices to bed and scroll or text into the wee hours.    
5. Make sure they know why. This is a step some parents unintentionally may skip. Even if you find yourself repeating the ‘why’ of screen limits to your kids, make sure they understand you aren’t being random with the rules. Let them know that it’s a proven reality (studies show) that excessive screentime has an array of emotional and physical consequences that you aren’t willing to allow into your family. 
6. Step into their world.  Have you ever thought of picking up that game controller and playing your child’s favorite game with them? It’s a simple gesture that could build amazing bridges. Not only could it help you understand their digital routines and communities, but it would also open the door for consistent online safety discussions. If your child spends most of their time on TikTok or Snapchat, ask them to show you around the apps. Be teachable and open to their favorite online activities. (One of my personal mottos is that as a parent I must make every effort to be teachable if I expect my kids to be reachable)!

One mom on Facebook recently shared a powerful reminder that, as parents, we only have 18 summers with our kids before—poof—they are grown. She also shared an inspiring visual reminder. She keeps a clear jar with each of her children’s names on it in plain view. Inside each jar, she places 18 colorful tiny pom-poms. She subtracts one pom pom each year on their birthday. As the pom poms visually decrease, it reminds her to make the most of her time with each child. Here’s hoping your summer is packed with less screentime and more moments that make each pom pom count. 

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Does Your Child Have an Unhealthy Relationship with Social Media?

Have you noticed that when parents gather, it doesn’t take long before the topic of kids and social media comes up. That’s because concern over screen time is a big deal, especially in this post-pandemic season. Parents want to know: How much is too much screen time? When should we step in? How do we reverse poor habits, and what will the lasting digital fallout of the lockdown be?  

Device Dependence 

These conversations weigh heavy on parents for a good reason. According to a report from Common Sense Media, teens spend an average of seven hours and 22 minutes on their phones a day. Tweens (ages 8 to 12) spend four hours and 44 minutes daily. This is time outside of schoolwork.  

Since the pandemic, another study claims that screen time for teens doubled to 7.7 hours a day—plus 5 to 7 daily hours of online learning, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. In addition, according to the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, children overall have been spending nearly triple the recommended amount of time on their screens. 

The good news is that social media also became a powerful tool for kids during the pandemic. Social channels helped kids connect with peers and combat loneliness and other mental health challenges. Still, the poor habit of device dependence may have come with those benefits.  

Revising Screen time 

While the debate continues over social media’s impact on kids and the research methodology continues to evolve, we can hold on to one clear truth: Any activity in excess can cause kids harm. When it comes to social media, too much screen time may contribute to sleep deprivation, a lack of healthy, and poor academics. In addition, studies show that mental health can be impacted by exposure to hate speech, sexual content, cyberbullying, and comparing oneself to others both physically and financially.  

As parents, we know when our family’s wellbeing is in jeopardy. We see it even if we fail to acknowledge it right away. Our kids might become compelled to check their phones. In fact, they panic when they can’t check their likes and comments every few minutes. We notice the red eyes and moodiness at the breakfast table caused by a late-night Tic Tock marathon. We sense a surge of anxiety in our kids when technology goes from entertaining to distressing.  

Thankfully, it’s never too late to help your kids better understand the impact of their actions and revise digital habits.  

Establishing new habits

1. Start small and make it fun. 

In the bestselling book Atomic Habits,  author James Clear says, “The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us.” He adds, “The task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.” Lasting change, says clear, needs to be enjoyable, not a punishment. If the goal is shaving a few hours off your child’s screen time, consider connecting time limits to an enjoyable activity such as making a meal together or creating an art space in your home for creative projects.  

2. Consider a device curfew. 

The data is in: The bright screens (and blue light emitted from devices( can cause permanent sleep cycle and brain/melatonin issues, which can have a cascading effect on physical and mental health. Turning off (or limiting the use of) electronic devices at least 15-30 minutes before going to bed may help prevent any adverse effects of technology and screen use on sleep. Consider investing in filtering software that comes with the time limits the whole family can all agree on. Do your research to ensure your family’s technology functions to empower, educate, and entertain. 

3. Encourage mindful media use. 

Consider how your child uses their time before suggesting sweeping changes to your child’s screen time. Are they vegetating, or are they consciously engaged? Are they creating and learning? Are they engaging with others or stalking accounts and slipping into “comparison despair?” Are family and school responsibilities suffering? Is there a compulsion to post or thoughtfulness? All kids are different, and all online experiences vary. Encourage your child to take time to consider how they feel and what they think while they are using their technology. 

4. Educate your kids—use facts. 

One way to negotiate screen limits is to make sure your kids understand the impact of excess media. Balance includes tapping into the benefits of social media while also taking steps to protect the body’s need for physical activity, real-life relationships, goal-setting, creative activities, mindfulness, and self-reflection.   

Helping kids manage and constantly revise their social media habits is a 24/7 endeavor from the minute they wake up to the minute they fall asleep. The biggest piece of that “management” plan and is keeping frequent, open, and honest communication a critical part of designing habits that encourage a healthy relationship with both peers and technology.  

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