ESafety

Time Online

 We often hear that too much screen time is bad for children. But how much is ‘too much’?

That depends on the type of content your child watches and the things they do online. Digital technologies can provide opportunities for creativity, problem-solving and learning — these are good screen practices. Think about good screen practices and screen time when you are deciding what is best for your child.

Here are some helpful tips:

 ●Establish time limits around when and for how long your child can be online when they are at home. 

●Use the available technologies — parental controls and tools to monitor online time allow you to measure and set time limits on device use or internet access. Be honest and open about why you want to use these technologies. 

●Turn off notifications for social media apps to help minimise distractions. 

●Depending on your child’s age, you can establish a family tech agreement that balances time spent in front of screens with offline activities. You can find templates by searching online. 

● Include ‘offline’ activities in your routine at home — this can include family exercise, reading time or board games. 

●Reduce your own time online to model positive behaviour!