Wellbeing and Mental Health
Screen Time
Watching TV and using computers, gaming consoles, tablets and smartphones can be part of a healthy lifestyle for children. However, it is important that parents and carers provide opportunities for children to enjoy plenty of healthy, fun screen free activities such as reading, creative play and social time with family and friends and physical activity. When children do use screens, it is also important for parents to consider the quality of the content being viewed and whether screen time is impacting on sleep. A healthy, balanced lifestyle for children includes enough good-quality sleep.
Raising Children Net, Australia’s leading parenting website offers a healthy approach to screen time checklist:
Is your child:
- sleeping enough?
- physically healthy?
- engaged with school?
- connecting socially with family and friends, online and offline?
- enjoying a variety of hobbies and interests?
- doing physical activity every day?
- having fun and learning while using screens?
- using quality content?
If you answer yes to most or all of these questions, your child is probably using screens in a balanced way as part of a healthy lifestyle.
The articles below can be found at www.raisingchildren.net.au, and provide helpful tips and suggestions for parents and carers on how to best approach screen time in a healthy and balanced way.
How can we use screens in healthy and balanced ways?
- School-age screen time: tips for balance
- Screen time and your family: a healthy approach
- Parents and screen time: role-modelling for children
- Screen time and sleep: children and teenagers
What is quality content?
What are the benefits of screen time?
- Shared screen time: why it’s good for you and your child
- Using screen time to encourage physical activity: 3-11 years
- Screen time: how it helps children learn
- Screen time and social life: children and teenagers
- Social media benefits and risks: children and teenagers
How can we manage screen time problems and risks?
- Managing screen time: strategies for children 3-11 years
- Screen time and physical problems: reducing the risks
- Internet safety: children 6-8 years
- Internet safety: children 9-11 years
