Mental Health and Wellbeing

Screens

Dear Families,

Managing screens for our children can be challenging for us as parents. As my children were growing up, I was constantly considering ways to help them (and myself) so that the screens didn’t start to run us. I recently found this article in The Conversation and thought it might be helpful to share it with you. 

Screen time is one of the top worries for Australian parents. In a national February 2021 poll by the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, parents rated it as the number-one health issue facing their children. Our previous research also shows parents feel guilty about screens, even though they are all around us.

They reviewed 100 studies about little kids and screens and here are the top four research-based strategies they suggest…

1. Make screen time together time

2. Choose age-appropriate content that encourages play

3. Don’t let screens get in the way of parent-child interactions

4. Don’t have the TV on in the background.

The full article can be found here. 

Enjoy the rest of your week, hopefully with just a little less screen time!

Andy McNeilly

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader