As a child during summer break, my challenge was to get home before dark. We’d be outside for hours exploring the woods nearby and playing in parks, riding bikes, swimming, and hanging out outside with friends…in person…not through a headset. Now that I’m a parent, the challenge is often to get the kids to play outside. They still like to bike, swim, and play with friends, but it’s often after negotiating how much screen time they will get after an outdoor activity. So, how do we encourage more outdoor time and stop battling all summer over technology? Delaney Ruston, M.D., and Screenagers’ Filmmaker has some ideas.
- Summer Projects. Come up with a couple specific things.
- Set screen time limits and/or encourage more pro-social games.
- House help. Fix things, paint things, and help with the cooking and household chores.
“The longest longitudinal study of humans ever conducted is called the Harvard Grant Study. It found that professional success in life, which is what we want for our kids, that professional success in life comes from having done chores as a kid, and the earlier you started, the better, that a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-pitch-in mindset, a mindset that says, there’s some unpleasant work, someone’s got to do it, it might as well be me…I will contribute my effort to the betterment of the whole, that that’s what gets you ahead in the workplace.” ~ Julie Lythcott Smith, former Stanford University Dean of Freshmen, TED Talk.
- Creative technology projects like create your own music or movie or learn how to program.
- Read! Check out the Screenagers’ website for a list of pre-teen and teen books.
And, so how do we get our kids to try out these ideas? Dr. Delaney suggests we start the conversation with these questions:
- What are 2 things you would like to accomplish this summer?
- Is there a new skill, like video editing or creating music or coding that you might be interested in learning more about?
- How much time do you think is reasonable per day this summer for you to spend doing things like playing video games or scrolling social media?
- What “house help” projects can you come up with that would teach you a skill you are interested in—or at least mildly interested in? Or at least not completely dreading?
Visit Screenagers to read the full text and find more ideas on How To Manage Screen Time This Summer.
Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash