{"id":1534,"date":"2020-05-28T09:15:18","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T07:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learning.bishops.org.za\/bsu2022\/?p=1534"},"modified":"2025-05-28T14:29:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:29:03","slug":"setting-limits-for-screen-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/2020\/05\/28\/setting-limits-for-screen-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting limits for screen time"},"content":{"rendered":"

How parents can manage the recreational use of electronic devices<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Laura Cook<\/em><\/strong><\/span> (Educational Psychologist)<\/p>\n

\"\"L<\/span><\/a>ockdown<\/span> has resulted in dining room tables becoming boardrooms, and bedrooms, classrooms.\u00a0 Electronic devices are a necessity as the medium for work, education and socialising.\u00a0 So, what is to be said of boundaries for electronic devices?\u00a0 Limits may need to be re-defined.\u00a0 Use of devices for schoolwork and socialising is constructive and a necessity right now, whereas screen-time for gaming and other online recreational activities will require limits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boundaries<\/strong><\/p>\n

Parents frequently express concerns about managing children\u2019s use of electronic devices, which all too often results in arguments.\u00a0 It is helpful to be collaborative in the determining and enforcement of boundaries.\u00a0 If children are part of the decision making, cooperation is more likely.\u00a0 You might decide how much recreational screen time is permissible, whilst the time of the day or week they can use this time may be negotiated.\u00a0 Explain why you are putting these boundaries in place.\u00a0 Ultimately, it is because you care about their wellbeing and are not just mean, as they might think.<\/p>\n

You may be told that someone else gets more screen time than them.\u00a0 Validate this frustration but maintain that as their parent, you feel differently and want to protect them.\u00a0 I am of the view that consequences should optimally relate to the crime.\u00a0 For instance, if your child is gaming outside the agreed times, then he has forfeited time out of the next day.\u00a0 This can be explained and agreed upon at the outset, so that he is fully aware of the consequence of his actions beforehand.\u00a0 You can then calmly follow through with the consequence.\u00a0 \u00a0No need to argue or get into a power struggle.\u00a0 Consistency is key.\u00a0 If you shift the boundaries constantly, then your child will be more likely to push, and conflict will increase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Modelling<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is important to model healthy device habits.\u00a0 Children tend to do as we do, not as we say.\u00a0 Do you frequently click ontoFfacebook or Instagram in your relaxation time?\u00a0 What limits do you need to give yourself?\u00a0 If you realise you need to manage your own recreational use of devices better, admit it, and show what you are doing about it.\u00a0 Be prepared to be caught out by your children!<\/p>\n

Collaborating with other parents<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is often hard to put boundaries on gaming when other children are given more latitude than you are comfortable with.\u00a0 Communicate with parents of your child\u2019s friends and collaboratively come up with boundaries that are the same for all the boys.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Balance<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to the amount of time that children should be allowed on devices recreationally, as a general rule of thumb, it should not be at the expense of sleep, social interaction and schoolwork.\u00a0 Screen time should also be balanced with other activities. Children may complain that they are bored.\u00a0 They need to learn to be innovative in coming up with ways to amuse themselves.\u00a0 I recall my nephew, who is a big gamer, complaining that he was bored one holiday.\u00a0 I challenged him to build a rocket using the materials that I put in front of him.\u00a0 He was initially reluctant but once he got into it, he spent ages engrossed in the activity.\u00a0 Sometimes the boys may need a little bit of direction.\u00a0 Parents could set challenges between friends, such as building things or solving mental puzzles and riddles.\u00a0 Start a large jigsaw puzzle at home.\u00a0 You may be surprised how initially disinterested family members begin to pop in a few pieces every so often and soon become engrossed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Managing transition:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fights are often about getting children off devices after the designated times.\u00a0 Children can become so engrossed that they find it difficult to stop.\u00a0 This is particularly the case for children who struggle with impulsivity, attention and emotional regulation.\u00a0\u00a0 Prepare children when their time is almost up.\u00a0\u00a0 When they come off the device, they may well still be frustrated.\u00a0 It is helpful to have an agreement that immediately after, they must do something to self-regulate, such as jump on the trampoline for 10 minutes or have some time-out in their room.\u00a0 Once they are better regulated, they can reconnect with the rest of the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Violent games<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am often asked my opinion on children playing violent games.\u00a0 This a topic in itself to address.\u00a0 I will direct you to a few websites that discuss some of the research.\u00a0 There are ongoing debates on the effects of violent games on children and sometimes contradictory literature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How parents can manage the recreational use of electronic devices by Laura Cook (Educational Psychologist) Lockdown has resulted in dining room tables becoming boardrooms, and bedrooms, classrooms.\u00a0 Electronic devices are a necessity as the medium for work, education and socialising.\u00a0 So, what is to be said of boundaries for electronic devices?\u00a0 Limits may need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[40,60],"class_list":["post-1534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prep","tag-electronic-devices","tag-limit-setting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2741,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534\/revisions\/2741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bishops.org.za\/bsu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}