Screens put the world at your child’s fingertips. How do you help your child navigate a complex digital world, where the best and the worst can be found?
Since screens are part of school and family life, every parent is faced with online challenges. How do you guide your child to enjoy the rich experience of being online while setting safe, comfortable limits for their use of screens?
It’s a big topic. And as your child ages, how you support them will change. Yet starting with the big picture can provide a useful map of the terrain.
Here are practical approaches that can help you guide your child to use screens in ways that foster good mental health, social development and enjoyment. The American Academy of Pediatrics created “The 5 Cs of Media Use”. They’re a way to help your family develop healthy habits and balanced use of media.
The 5 Cs
Child – Observe & be curious about your child’s relationship with media. What areas are they interested in that they can explore online? What might be their vulnerabilities – such as content that makes them feel anxious or a risk-taking tendency to follow online challenges?
Content – Pay attention to the apps and where your child goes. It’s ok to be involved. Family settings/parental controls that filter content aren’t 100% effective. Take an interest in what your child plays or watches. Do the messages align with your family values? If not, find alternatives.
Useful content resources:
- Protect Young Eyes: a free online guide to today’s popular apps.
- search: protectyoungeyes.com/app
- Common Sense Media: free content breakdowns, age recommendations, and discussion questions – for movies, apps, games and books.
- search: commonsense.org
Calm – Kids need calming skills. When kids use technology to distract from boredom or difficult emotions, they become dependent on screens and may not develop vital life skills. Find ways to help your child to learn to handle emotions. For instance, make sure bedtime rituals are free of screens, and set up routines such as deep breathing or listening to calming music to foster skills for settling down.
Communication – Talk with curiosity not shame. Talk about media with your kids, early and often. You’ll be creating a shared understanding of the pitfalls everyone must navigate, and you’ll come to understand your child’s experiences. These conversations, that are not in the moment of limit-setting, help to create safety awareness and keep channels of communication open. At times these conversations may be surprising, so remember to take deep breaths, ask open-ended questions and listen.
Crowding out – Let’s put tech in its place. Managing media is tough for all of us, since many short videos and online games are designed to hook you into playing longer than you intended. Talk about this with your child. Help your child reduce screen time by thinking about what they want in their day, such as family time, friendships and playing outdoors. You’ll need to set limits, but you’ll have a shared focus to work from.
It’s hard to imagine the technology your child might use in the future. However, you can foster healthy media habits and support your child’s online safety – so screens provide enriching experiences and prepare them for an everchanging digital world.
