Small changes are all you need to feel good about the kids’ screen time
“New Year. New You.” Inspiring but let’s be real – doesn’t that sound exhausting?! It takes a whole lot of energy to be entirely new. Just ask the very hungry caterpillar. With adulting and parenting to boot, aspiring for newness each year is pushing it.
Let’s talk about Screens Baby
Ask any parent about their kids and screens and you’ll hear about resignation or guilt. We’re not even talking about the fantastically impractical official screen time recommendations (has anyone really ever been able to achieve them?). Most parents fall short even against loose this-might-work-in-my-house goals.
Yes, you know the kids can benefit from the incredible power of the internet to support their creativity, curiosity, confidence, and a whole host of other good nouns beginning with c. It’s not like kids get broken bones or bloody noses from wasting time online or even watching content you’d rather they didn’t. You’re barely getting them to consume healthy food, consuming healthy digital diets seems like it can wait. Especially because it’s so hard to do! Or is it…
Feeling good about your kids’ screen time is easier than you think
New Year’s is like everybody celebrating their birthday at the same time. There’s just a good vibe and a general celebratory mood. That joy of renewal and hope for fresh starts can give you a boost to finally tackle things you’ve let slide. The problem is we ruin our resolve with demoralizing transformation expectations. People, remember that being better in any amount counts!
In Anetaland, we’re very much sold on any progress versus no improvement at all. This week, we are sharing three easy tactics guaranteed to make you feel better about your kid’s screen time. And what’s not to like about feeling good. Read on.
Screen time quality boosters that are easy to check off your to-do list
Face the ‘it’s boring!’ excuse with Gem of the Week recommendations
One of the main reasons we succumb to less than desirable screen quality for the kids is just being out of energy to fight them when they’re insistent on watching some meaningless-waste-of-time thing because everything else is ‘boring’.
Beat the kids at their own game by giving them educational content that’s so fun they’ll have to fake not wanting to engage. No, you don’t have to wade through the tons of educational content to find those that are indeed not boring. Every week, we bring you a Digital Gem of the week. Just take any 2 of them and add them to your child’s screen time repertoire. It’s that simple.
Triumph over the ‘but I only just started’ excuse with, ‘productive content or no content’
Make the kids an offer they can’t refuse – more screen time but only if it’s educational. Another reason we throw in the towel and leave the kids to their own devices (pun intended) is we are out of energy to be timekeepers, day in and day out of the limits we have set. When your gut tells you the kids have been online for more than you want, give them the option to get off immediately or do an activity that does you both good. Again, anything from the gem of the week collection would be good. Most kids will choose to stay on the screens peacefully even if they have to switch activities.
Conquer the ‘I can’t be everywhere at once’ reality with Aneta
What do a lawn mower, Microsoft Excel, a washing machine, and a car have in common? It’s not a trick question. They are all technologies that have made us more productive. Parenting in the digital age is no mean feat. It makes all the sense to take the help that technology offers. Aneta will allow kids as young as 2 or 3 to independently get to the approved digital gems whether they are an app or require a 400-character URL. The way we see it, using Aneta is no different than deciding to use a vacuum cleaner. It helps get the job done more efficiently.
So, as you ring in the New Year there’s at least one area you can feel better about this coming year. And it doesn’t take a brand new you. Just a slightly different you will do.
