Teaching Tykes Technology: Healthy Habits and More

It’s a familiar scenario. While watching television with your family you look around and see faces buried in various forms of technology. In today’s digital age, it can be difficult to unplug, even when spending time with loved ones.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children today spend an average of seven hours a day on entertainment media. This includes televisions, computers, phones and other electronic devices. Excessive screen time can lead to behavioral issues in school and sleep deprivation, and contributes to unhealthy eating habits which may lead to obesity.

With the unlimited amount of information available right at children’s fingertips, it’s important to keep an eye on your little one’s tech use for their own health and safety. Here are six tips to help you ensure that your children are developing healthy online habits.

1. Establish rules for family tech use. Set sensible limits and encourage your children to stay physically active. Find creative afterschool activities to work both their bodies and minds before watching television, browsing on the internet or playing video games.
2. Let your children know that browsing online is a privilege and not a right. Remind them that electronic devices can be taken away if rules are not followed diligently. Use positive reinforcement when healthy tech use is being exercised.
3. Designate “tech-free” zones at your home by keeping televisions, computers or video games out of bedrooms and turned off during dinner. Emphasis the importance of unplugging during family meals and other social gatherings. In addition, keep televisions, computers and video games out of bedrooms overnight to avoid any distractions that may prevent a good night’s sleep.
4. Participate in various activities as a family. Play and learn with your children by heading outdoors for a hike or hosting a family game night. Use these activities to encourage bonding and communication without the distraction electronic devices.
5. Encourage educational tech use. Find age-appropriate, interactive applications and programs that would interest your children.
6. Monitor for age-appropriate surfing. Set up reasonable parental controls on computers and mobile devices to ensure children are browsing responsibly and cannot easily access adult content.
7. Set a positive example. More often than not, adults need to reboot their own electronic habits. Find the time each evening to put you cell phone away, close the laptop and connect with your children. Children often mimic their parents and if they see you turning your attention away from technology, it is likely they will follow your lead.

It’s important to remember that while your electronic devices must be plugged in order to recharge, your brain requires a complete digital disconnect so it can be refreshed and ready to go.

Mark Kishel, M.D., FAAP is Regional Vice President and Senior Clinical Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics