The scenario likely feels familiar to many parents and caregivers. A child gets their daily allotment of screen time and quickly starts pleading for more.
For adults trying to do their best, it’s complicated. Allowing kids to play on a tablet or smartphone to distract them at a restaurant or during a long car ride, feels natural. But from there, it’s not uncommon to see that lead to a seemingly insatiable appetite for more screen time.
“As kids get older, it only gets more complex,” says Emily Olson, MD, a pediatrician with ThedaCare Physicians Pediatrics-Neenah. “Once they begin to make friends and go to school, they’re exposed to what peers get to do. Their parents’ or caregivers’ guidelines may differ from your own.”
Technology continues to become ever-more enticing and sophisticated. (Hello, AI!) It’s no wonder that navigating the landscape and creating appropriate boundaries feels increasingly challenging.
As a new school year begins, we’re sharing tips for helping you create healthy technology boundaries for your child.
New Framework
Recognizing the evolving nature of technology use among children and teens, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently shared a new set of guidelines for parents as they evaluate what’s appropriate for their kids.
The “5 C’s” encourages parents and caregivers to evaluate factors and questions as they relate to their unique child.
“The new guidelines reflect that time limits alone don’t address the complexity of determining what’s appropriate for your child and how technology use might be impacting them,” Dr. Olson says.
5 C’s: A Deeper Dive
1. Child. Evaluate your child’s personality and how they use and relate to media.
Ask yourself:
- How does my child’s personality influence what kind of content they consume?
- Does my child use media and devices to connect to with friends and peers in healthy ways? Or does technology make it easier for them to retreat from social situations and increase loneliness and isolation?
- Does my child have the maturity and critical-thinking skills to distinguish between content that’s enriching and that which may be dangerous, exploitative or untrue?
2. Content. Monitor and understand the content your child is consuming. Watch for concerns such as violence, hateful speech, reinforcement of unrealistic beauty standards, commercialism and modeling of rude or reckless behavior. Talk with them about any problems you see. Limit where, when and how they engage in content. The AAP offers a tool for creating a family media plan.
Ask yourself:
- What kind of media do your kids gravitate toward, and how are they using it? For example, some children take in mindless content, while others might turn to YouTube to learn or improve a skill such as art, music or playing chess.
3. Calm. Kids of all ages often turn to devices and apps as a calming mechanism. From boredom to sorrow to anger to loneliness, children are often inclined to soothe or escape their difficult emotions with technology. Spoiler: Adults often do the same, so it’s worth looking inward as well. Kids watch what we do as adults, and the behavior we model matters.
Ask yourself:
- Is my child using technology to avoid challenging emotions or situations? Do they have other strategies for calming themselves? If not, talk with your child’s pediatrician. They can offer ideas and refer you to resources and services such as counseling if needed.
4. Crowding out. It’s easy for technology to become a single-minded focus for kids. This may cause them to spend less time doing activities they used to love such as playing, reading, sports or art. Overindulging in technology also can negatively impact kids’ sleep and take the focus away from completing important tasks such as homework.
Ask yourself:
- Is my child’s technology use crowding out habits important to their health and well-being? The AAP recommends reframing the discussion as a positive and reminding kids what they can gain from keeping their interests broad. This could be more time to play family games or participate in a sport.
5. Communication. Keep the lines of communication open. Begin this at an early age, and make it an ongoing priority. Through helping your child develop sound judgment and reinforcing boundaries, you can set the stage for them developing healthy habits around technology.
Ask yourself:
- How am I talking to my child about their technology use? Watch what they’re consuming, and use it as a launchpad for meaningful conversations. For example, is a piece of content trying to sell your child something? Is an influencer promoting unrealistic beauty standards or messages that could lead to kids developing an unhealthy body image? If appropriate for the child’s age, you could discuss stories that come out in the news about harmful social media trends.
Resources and Support
Navigating technology use among kids is among the most challenging tasks of parenting. Your child’s pediatric care team is here to help. Bring concerns and questions to their annual well child visit.
“As pediatricians, we’re here to help as your child develops habits that keep them physically and mentally well as they grow,” Dr. Olson says. “Helping them learn to use technology in a safe and responsible way is a huge undertaking, but one worth pursuing.”
Have questions about your child’s technology use?
Talk with your pediatrician at your next well child visit and get personalized guidance for building healthy digital habits.
