Screens have become an integral part of our lives and our children’s lives. Schools even utilize screens as a teaching aid. With the prevalence of screens in our children’s lives, we need to develop some limits and boundaries that will allow for their healthy utilization of screens and healthy development for our children. Here are four limits that could prove helpful.

• Don’t utilize screens when upset or distressed. Instead, help your child learn healthy coping skills that don’t utilize screens. Teach them the importance of accepting their feelings, acknowledging their feelings, and then learning to manage them. Teach them alternative coping skills such as breathing, talking about feelings, engaging in calming activities, or calling a friend. We want our children to develop a plethora of healthy coping skills beyond simply getting lost in game-playing or mindless scrolling.
• Don’t utilize screens when bored. Not only do we want our children to learn healthy ways to regulate emotions, but we also want them to learn healthy ways of managing boredom, healthy ways of entertaining themselves. Boredom is invaluable in helping a child grow in creativity and independence. Teach your children that boredom actually presents an opportunity for them to explore creative ways to entertain themselves. Many even find that allowing their mind to wander and daydream is very rewarding and growth producing.
• Don’t utilize screens during social opportunities. That means no screens during dinner. No screens on a date. No screens during a “playdate.” No screens during family games. Encourage face-to-face interactions during these times.  This will help our children learn healthy socialization skills.
• No screens in the bedroom…at least in the beginning. Until our children learn how to monitor their screen time effectively, it may be best to keep the phone in a public place to charge overnight. Otherwise, our children may text or scroll or bump into all sorts of information we don’t want them to have as they stay on their screen into the “wee hours” of the morning in their bedroom. Of course, this may mean getting your child an alarm clock other than their phone, at least until they show a mature ability to manage their screen time.

These are 4 boundaries that could prove helpful in raising children who exhibit wisdom in managing screentime in a healthy manner. That being said, the possibilities of smartphones, the availability of apps, and the pull of games is constantly changing and calling to our children. So, what ideas and boundaries have you found helpful in teaching your children to be healthy consumers of screen time? Share in the comments below so we can all help one another learn.