I mentioned to some colleagues recently how surprised I was that so many parents give kids screens to keep them occupied during a doctor’s visit. By being on a screen, the parents are missing out on an opportunity to have their children experience the health profession, to be present during the exam and interact with the whole health team.
About an hour later I had a big “aha” moment. What if all pediatricians in the country have signs in the waiting room that said something like the following:
"For children’s development, having times off screens is important. This doctor’s office is a ‘screen-free zone’ for kids. We want them to be engaged in the visit and who knows—maybe they will want to go into the healthcare profession someday."
Clearly, if a child is frantic without a screen certain exceptions would apply—and this would be a good time to screen a family about screen-time rules.
My family has several screen-free zones: the car (exceptions are made for Google Maps) and the bedrooms at bedtime. My daughter, Tessa's room, is mainly a screen-free zone which includes her cell phone.
It is one thing to say a place is screen-free, and it is quite another to enforce it—I get it! For schools, I have been learning of more and more teachers using hanging pocket organizers where students put their phones when they walk into the classroom. Enforcing at home is tricky too—it is all about the frequent calm conversations which is why we do TTTs.
So for this Tech Talk Tuesday here are some questions to help you start a conversation:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
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Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
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I mentioned to some colleagues recently how surprised I was that so many parents give kids screens to keep them occupied during a doctor’s visit. By being on a screen, the parents are missing out on an opportunity to have their children experience the health profession, to be present during the exam and interact with the whole health team.
About an hour later I had a big “aha” moment. What if all pediatricians in the country have signs in the waiting room that said something like the following:
"For children’s development, having times off screens is important. This doctor’s office is a ‘screen-free zone’ for kids. We want them to be engaged in the visit and who knows—maybe they will want to go into the healthcare profession someday."
Clearly, if a child is frantic without a screen certain exceptions would apply—and this would be a good time to screen a family about screen-time rules.
My family has several screen-free zones: the car (exceptions are made for Google Maps) and the bedrooms at bedtime. My daughter, Tessa's room, is mainly a screen-free zone which includes her cell phone.
It is one thing to say a place is screen-free, and it is quite another to enforce it—I get it! For schools, I have been learning of more and more teachers using hanging pocket organizers where students put their phones when they walk into the classroom. Enforcing at home is tricky too—it is all about the frequent calm conversations which is why we do TTTs.
So for this Tech Talk Tuesday here are some questions to help you start a conversation:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Sign up here to receive the weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter from Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD.
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I mentioned to some colleagues recently how surprised I was that so many parents give kids screens to keep them occupied during a doctor’s visit. By being on a screen, the parents are missing out on an opportunity to have their children experience the health profession, to be present during the exam and interact with the whole health team.
About an hour later I had a big “aha” moment. What if all pediatricians in the country have signs in the waiting room that said something like the following:
"For children’s development, having times off screens is important. This doctor’s office is a ‘screen-free zone’ for kids. We want them to be engaged in the visit and who knows—maybe they will want to go into the healthcare profession someday."
Clearly, if a child is frantic without a screen certain exceptions would apply—and this would be a good time to screen a family about screen-time rules.
My family has several screen-free zones: the car (exceptions are made for Google Maps) and the bedrooms at bedtime. My daughter, Tessa's room, is mainly a screen-free zone which includes her cell phone.
It is one thing to say a place is screen-free, and it is quite another to enforce it—I get it! For schools, I have been learning of more and more teachers using hanging pocket organizers where students put their phones when they walk into the classroom. Enforcing at home is tricky too—it is all about the frequent calm conversations which is why we do TTTs.
So for this Tech Talk Tuesday here are some questions to help you start a conversation:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Parenting in this digital age is full of challenges. I imagine many of you are nodding in agreement. And when we look for advice online, it can feel like a sea of perfect experts with perfect advice: “Just follow these three easy steps and everything will fall into place.” In this week’s blog, I share a story about a moment with my daughter Tessa that did not go quite as planned but ended up teaching us both something important.
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Wow! Summer really goes by fast, doesn’t it? Back-to-school is already here for some and not far away for others. Ahead of this school year, I’ve hand-picked four of our most useful blogs. Practical, timely guides to help you set your family up for a healthier, more balanced relationship with technology in the months ahead.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
