Before your summer even starts, set boundaries for your devices. When will you be allowed to use them, and even what times? If it’s raining outside or you will have to be bringing your kids to a doctor’s appointment, it’s okay to allow them to use a screen for a while. You don’t want to keep your family from enjoying a movie night together or avoid watching something at a friend’s house if that’s something you want for your kids.
If you don’t want to completely ditch the screens during summer, at least set screen-free hours. The best time for screen-free hours is before bed! The blue light from our screens is terrible for our sleep and can cause the brain to get stimulated right before bed. To avoid this, make the last few hours of your day a screen-free time.
The longer you are stuck at home inside, the more you will want to use a device! Try to leave your house even once a day if you can manage it! If you can’t leave the house, head outside and find something to do. Even just playing in the backyard for a few hours can help you fight the temptation to use the screen. Make sure what you leave the house, you leave the screens at home!
There are a lot of great summer camps and programs that you can participate in! Head to the library for story time, go attend an outdoor concert, or even attend a festival. There are so many activities happening during the summer that make it easy to go screen-free! If you don’t have many activities going on near you, plan your own! Go for a hike or a camping trip, head to the beach, or find some other way to keep yourself entertained for the day.
Be ready for any situation in which you may need to think about your screen. Instead of watching movies on a long car ride, play games or do audiobooks instead. Plan rainy day crafts and activities for your kids, and arm yourself with alternatives. These will make it easier to say no to screens and replace it with something better in its place. If you aren’t sure what you need, think about the times when you use the screens the most. Look for alternatives for these occasions that work just as well, and then gradually come up with alternatives as you need them.
It is possible to have a screen-free summer for the whole family! If you follow these tips, you’ll have a plan in place and you’ll be on your way to screen-free summer days.
Do you regulate screen time for your children? Why or why not?
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