Kids aren’t the only ones glued to their screens. Parents get sucked into the little glowing light too.
Not one, but two studies, found something that I found surprising: the majority of parents believe they are good media-use role models for their kids. The American Psychological Association’s 2017 Stress in America survey found that 72% of parents somewhat or strongly agree that they model a healthy relationship with technology for their children. The other study was a 2016 Common Sense Media survey of 1,796 parents, which found that the large majority of parents (78%) believe they model good media habits for their kids.
Do our kids think we are good role models? When I ask audiences of students if they think their parents are on their devices too much, generally two-thirds of the kids raise their hands. The Common Sense Media survey above supports this point in that parents of tweens and teens report spending on average more than 6.5 hours a day on screens each day doing things like watching tv, social networking, browsing the internet, and video gaming.
When we say, “we want to model better,” it is like saying, “I am going to eat better,” a goal which is rarely attainable because it is too vague. A well-known fact about behavior change is that choosing a clearly definable goal, and setting things up for success around it, increases the chance for change that is noticeable and sustainable. Screen time allows us to model behavior change. My suggestion is to pick one thing you want to change about screen time use and share that with your kids or students.
Here are some examples of behavior changes with tech, starting with my own:
For this TTT, start a conversation about everyone in the family’s habits around technology. Here are some questions to get you started.
Kids aren’t the only ones glued to their screens. Parents get sucked into the little glowing light too.
Not one, but two studies, found something that I found surprising: the majority of parents believe they are good media-use role models for their kids. The American Psychological Association’s 2017 Stress in America survey found that 72% of parents somewhat or strongly agree that they model a healthy relationship with technology for their children. The other study was a 2016 Common Sense Media survey of 1,796 parents, which found that the large majority of parents (78%) believe they model good media habits for their kids.
Do our kids think we are good role models? When I ask audiences of students if they think their parents are on their devices too much, generally two-thirds of the kids raise their hands. The Common Sense Media survey above supports this point in that parents of tweens and teens report spending on average more than 6.5 hours a day on screens each day doing things like watching tv, social networking, browsing the internet, and video gaming.
When we say, “we want to model better,” it is like saying, “I am going to eat better,” a goal which is rarely attainable because it is too vague. A well-known fact about behavior change is that choosing a clearly definable goal, and setting things up for success around it, increases the chance for change that is noticeable and sustainable. Screen time allows us to model behavior change. My suggestion is to pick one thing you want to change about screen time use and share that with your kids or students.
Here are some examples of behavior changes with tech, starting with my own:
For this TTT, start a conversation about everyone in the family’s habits around technology. Here are some questions to get you started.
A few weeks ago a dear friend shared with me about her screen-free family Sundays with her 3 kids. When Jamie started Screen-Free Sundays, they planned to just try it out for a month so she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the experiment. I also talk with a mom in Alaska who prioritized reading in her family in all sorts of ways — and keeping screens at bay when they read. Hear how the experiments have gone.
READ MORE >Recently, I spoke with someone who has decided to really cut down on their social media use and news feeds because they saw how it was impacting their mental state. I have written in the past and podcasted about how we help our kids recognize disinformation, but today I’m discussing managing the quantity of “bad news.”
READ MORE >Today I share strategies to help parents in conflict over screen time limits. I know, generally, it is important to have a united front for our kids about things like rules, but what about the benefits of bringing some conflict out into the open at times?
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.