Although smart phones have made it convenient and easy when communicating with our kids, teens and screens should be used responsibly to avoid mental health challenges.

Below are some useful tips for helping your child develop healthy habits around using devices.

1. Set a good example with your own phone usage. Prioritize meals, family time and conversations over using your device. Even if you think your children aren’t noticing, they are. 
2. Create “device-free zones”. Such as the table while eating, while watching a movie together, while doing homework or an hour before bedtime. 
3. Talk to your kids about the dangers such as bullying and predators around and social media usage. 
4. Check and monitor their downloaded apps on a random basis. 
5. Before cell phones, grounding was a consequence for bad behavior. Now, we have cell phone grounding. Create freedom consequences for misuse.
6. Consider giving your son or daughter a flip phone. 
7. Use an old fashioned alarm clock in the morning instead of the alarm on their phone.
8. When kids are younger, set daily time limits to usage.
9. Have a Phone Bowl in the living room or kitchen. Make it a family practice to place phones in the bowl at bedtime.  
10. Practice a bedtime ritual with your kids that does not include any devices. 
11. Set moderation rules and consequences around gaming. And parent, if you game yourself, abide by the same rules. 
12. Keep gaming devices in a family room.
13. Watch the film Screenagers  https://www.screenagersmovie.com
14. Screenagers is an award-winning film and a mission that probes into todays family life and depicts messy struggles over social media, video games and academics. The film offers solutions on how we can help our kids navigate the digital world.
    • Screenages has a newsletter called Tech Talk Tuesdays (https://www.screenagersmovie.com/blog) and a podcast called The Screenagers Podcast (https://www.screenagersmovie.com/screenagers-podcast) for ongoing education around teens and screens.
15. Wait Until 8th (https://www.waituntil8th.org) is a non-profit campaign helping to empower parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade. If everyone did it, kids wouldn’t feel they are missing out, then feel entitled or rebel. Wait until 8th says, “Childhood is too short to waste on a smartphone”.

You know when your teen has possibly had too much screen time when:

1. She has trouble sleeping. 
2. You start noticing him socially isolating. 
3. Productivity with school work or chores is lacking. 
4. You find out that she has been exposed to age-inappropriate information. 
5. He sneaks or lies to get screen time. 
6. When she has a bad day, screen time is the only activity that helps her feel better. 
7. The screen time is causing problems and disconnect with family members. 

When there has been mental health decline due to screen usage, a therapeutic educational consultant can guide you or your loved one around the options of getting help. You may contact a consultant here. 

© Therapeutic Educational Consulting

Photo credit, Josh Withers