How many times do you find yourself picking up your phone to check something and, before you know it, an hour has passed and the only thing you have accomplished is saving 6 recipes you won’t ever make, finding 32 Dollar Tree Christmas craft ideas, and found the magic exercise that guarantees you’ll be 30 lbs lighter in a month? We’ve all been guilty of falling down the rabbit hole that is our phones. Unfortunately, so do our kids, and they are spending almost twice as much time behind screens as adults.
Loss of productivity, shortened attention span, and anxiety and depression have all been linked to high amounts of screentime, but content is always an issue as well. Because of the science behind brain development, when a child encounters dangerous content such as tik toks encouraging risky behavior, bullying, sexting, and even pornography, it is much harder for them to pull away and think through the consequences of these encounters. It is important for parents, not just to have conversations with their children, but to be aware of what they are seeing on their phones and games, as well as to teach them skills to reduce their screentime.
There are many apps that a parent can use to monitor activity on a young persons phone as well as the time they spend on screens. Family Link, Appblock, and Screenzen are just a few of these apps. Each app offers a variety of services. Some are free and some are paid subscriptions. It is up to the parents to research and find what works best for your family. For a more complete description of some of the more popular apps click here.
There are several apps that go beyond monitoring and setting limits. These apps teach your child discipline when it comes to their screens (and some are even fun). Space and Dinnermode are apps that help you set time limits. Flora is a fun game-like app. You have to keep your tree alive by spending time off your phone. You can get more trees by completing off-phone tasks and by bringing friends in to complete challenges together. There is a check-in feature to encourage each other to stay off their phones and check on everyone’s progress. Moment and Flipd are both apps that encourage focus and productivity.
Check these apps out and have some fun with them. Even adults could benefit from giving these a try. Having a little friendly family competition might just be what you need to increase your productivity and reconnect!
