Technology

Prepare for the use of technology in your household over the holiday break. Below are some tips to help manage healthy holiday habits and set clear expectations around device usage at home.

Digital Downtime: Managing Healthy Holiday Habits

• Establish consistent yet relaxed boundaries for holiday screen time to ensure everyone is on the same page and to prevent digital disputes.
• Encourage your child to explore activities beyond their screen that promote physical, emotional, and cognitive development.
• Help your child cultivate responsibility and self-regulation with device use, emphasising quality over quantity when engaging with digital content.
• Lead by example by demonstrating healthy screen habits, participating in offline activities, and prioritising real-world connections during holiday breaks.

Written by online safety expert

Teodora Pavkovic

Whether it's summer vacations, winter breaks, or festive celebrations, holidays bring a reprieve from regular daily routines and often a relaxation of rules. Holiday breaks can also mean that children have more time available to spend on their devices, so it's important for parents to help strike the right balance, maintaining their child's digital wellbeing while they relax and recharge.

Establish consistent (relaxed) boundaries

Start by establishing consistent (albeit relaxed) boundaries around holiday screen time. Setting clear guidelines for when devices are allowed and when they should be put aside in favour of other activities helps children understand expectations and ensures everyone is on the same page so that digital disputes don't interfere with holiday fun. 

Embrace experiences beyond screens

Encourage your child to embrace a variety of activities beyond their screen during holiday breaks, emphasising the value of experiences that foster positive physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Whether exploring nature, engaging in a creative pursuit, relaxing with family, or playing a game outdoors, finding alternative activities your child enjoys will help ensure they are open to stepping away from their screen more regularly.

Have your child set achievable boundaries around their device use to help them manage their screen time effectively. This will promote a sense of responsibility and self-regulation, empowering them to make mindful choices about their holiday screen time habits.

Encourage quality over quantity

When your child does use their screen, encourage them to choose high-quality, age-appropriate content over quantity. Teach them to be discerning when navigating the digital world by using their screen time to engage with content that aligns with their interests and values, emphasising the importance of online safety and digital wellbeing. Fostering a healthy relationship with technology will enable your child to embrace the digital world's full potential for learning, creativity, and connection.

Lead by example

Aim to be a positive role model for your child by demonstrating healthy screen habits and actively participating in alternative offline activities yourself. As a family, use holiday breaks as an opportunity to disconnect from screens and reconnect with each other through meaningful conversations and shared experiences. Leading by example will help your child understand the importance of prioritising real-world connections and embracing the joy of living in the present moment.

Helping your child manage their screen time during holiday periods is about balance. By establishing consistent (relaxed) boundaries, prioritising meaningful offline connections and experiences, ensuring their digital environment remains positive, and leading by example, you can help empower them to make responsible screen time choices during the holidays, fostering healthy holiday habits with their digital devices.

Taming the Tech Tantrum

• Children experience tech tantrums due to interruptions in their digital interactions, heightened by the stimulating and rewarding nature of online activities.
• Overstimulation occurs when young children spend more than two continuous hours on screens. Limiting screen time to an hour or less helps reduce post-screen grumpiness.
• Follow our three-step process for helping reduce the occurrence of tech tantrums.

Children can experience tech tantrums for a few different reasons, most of which revolve around what is happening in their brains while they're interacting with digital content and what occurs when that interaction is interrupted. 

In the younger years, children don’t deal well with having fun, goal-oriented activities abruptly disrupted, especially when these activities are as stimulating and rewarding as those online tend to be. The tools used by today’s game designers and video creators are so advanced that disengaging from their content can be exceptionally difficult, even for self-aware adults!

Goal interruption

Many screen time activities (including videos) involve reaching goals or endpoints, triggering the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with joy and reward. The brain thrives on engagement in goal-oriented activities; therefore, interrupting a child’s ‘screen goals’ midway through a digital activity can be emotionally and cognitively shocking for their system. Disappointment sets in, frustration peaks, and tech tantrums are unleashed.

Overstimulation

Young children who spend more than two hours glued to a screen without a break are more prone to irritability and emotional outbursts when the screens are taken away. Screens engage digital and auditory processing, decision-making, and other cognitive functions, overstimulating young minds easily. Jumping between multiple screen-based activities only exacerbates the issue; however, limiting screen time for younger children to an hour or less will help them to be less grumpy when their device is removed.

The three steps to tech tantrum taming

1.  Set a limit before screen time starts

Children are optimistic thinkers, often overestimating how long they’ll be allowed to use their devices, so it goes without saying that when their expectation of screen time is three hours, and yours is 30 minutes, there’s going to be some disappointment from at least one party. Establish clear limits on screen time before your child dives into their digital realms. This not only sets realistic expectations but also nurtures their self-regulatory skills.

2.  Give a ten-minute alert

It would be unrealistic to assume that at the end of your child's screen time, they will simply put their device down. Given how technology use stimulates the brain, an abrupt end to screen time can be emotionally and psychologically jarring. Provide a ten-minute warning, allowing them to adjust their expectations and mentally prepare for the impending conclusion. Once the ten minutes are up, sit with them while they’re on their device to see what they’re up to. If they're playing a game or watching a video, and it looks like they're close to finishing, let them finish, even if it takes another five minutes or so. We all feel satisfied when we can complete a task, so allowing them that little bit of extra time to do this can be helpful.

3.  Have a transition activity ready to go

Transitioning from the captivating world of the screen to reality can be challenging. To help things go more smoothly, prepare a transition activity while your child is still on their device, informing them of what's next when you give them their ten-minute alert. To refocus their attention and minimise the effects of sensory overload, consider centering the activity around physical movement that your child enjoys, like taking the dog for a walk or even just a quick three-minute dance party rather than homework or a chore (which is unlikely to help alleviate a tech tantrum).

Taming the tech tantrum requires a blend of clear communication, mutual expectations, and a strategic transition. As parents, we play a crucial role in guiding our children through the digital landscape, ensuring that our children's screen time is not only enjoyable but also balanced.