This is a contributed post and therefore doesn’t necessarily reflect the views or opinions of this blog or its author.
No one wants their kids to spend all their time in front of a screen. However, very few parents decide that their children aren’t allowed any screen time at all. Sometimes it’s the best way to get them to calm down or relax, and it’s an easy way to give yourself a break. If you still worry about your kids when they’re in front of a screen, you can take a few steps to protect them. It’s important to consider how screen time might affect their health and the possible impact it can have socially. You might not always understand everything they’re doing, but you can do some things to protect them.
Teaching Internet Safety
Letting your kids loose on the internet can be frightening. However, many parents aren’t even aware of some of the things that their children could be watching or doing. Good internet safety is vital for kids, which means that parents need to understand how to stay safe online too. Talk to your children about various matters, from avoiding scams to not talking to strangers. Each child will have different levels of ability to understand how to stay safe, but you’ll know what your child is capable of understanding. You should also protect any devices with adequate firewalls and virus protection.
Monitoring Usage
Setting rules for your children is a good start, but just because the rules exist, it doesn’t mean your kids will follow them. There are also certain things they could do that don’t fall outside of your rules but that you don’t want them doing anyway. It’s easier than you might think to stumble across videos or apps you don’t want them to see or use. That’s why monitoring screen time is also important. It’s a good idea to stay up to date on the dangers of the internet so you can make sure your kids are being safe. Things change quickly and new, sometimes strange, things can pose threats.
Protect Their Eyes
Computers screens and other devices give off blue light, and it’s not good to be exposed to too much of it. Not only could it cause vision problems but it can also affect sleep patterns. One way to protect your child’s eyes from blue light from screens is to use special glasses that block it. You can out more about how blue light blocking glasses could benefit you and your kids from Spektrum Glasses. They’re available as prescription glasses, as well as non-prescription.
Make Screen Time a Group Activity
If you don’t want your children to spend too much screen time on their own, turn it into a group activity instead. Using a computer or tablet, or watching TV don’t need to be solo activities. You can watch something together and discuss what you’re seeing. Or you can play a game together or do an educational activity. Screen time can be beneficial to your child’s education and social skills if you use it in the right way.
You don’t have to ban your kids from screens to protect them. Just be careful about how they use them to get more from their screen time.
