Screen time is a battle ground in most households across America. If you are a parent trying to raise healthy children, how are you doing when it comes to listening to the experts about screen time use in your family?
Do your house rules compare to the experts? Take a look at what the experts recommend and assess how well your family is doing. Here are the family rules of certain experts according to the reporting of Anya Kamenetz for NPR.
Expert Pediatrician Jenny Radesky rules:
- No media on school days.
- Unplug at family dinners.
- Unplug at night before bedtime.
- Family screen time like a movie night (joint media engagement).
- Limited screen time on weekends.
- Discussion of video games and reactions to them.
Expert Sleep Researcher Lauren Hale
- No screens in the hour before bed.
- No screens in the bedroom.
Expert Pediatrician Tom Warshawski on Obesity
- Follow the 5.2.1.0 rule (5 servings of fruits and vegetables, no more than 2 hours of screen time away, 1 hour of physical activity and 0 sugary beverages.
- TV -1 hour on weekdays after all homework is done.
- No video games at all!
Expert Douglas Gentile on Media Violence
- One hour of TV a day in grade school, 2 when the children were older.
- Views for content-watches and screens BEFORE the children see it.