Balancing Screen Time for Kids

(lively music) Headspace is here to help kids and families show their mind some love. It's time to take a breather. Hi and welcome to Headspace Breathers. I'm Samantha, a kids and family mindfulness expert. So let's talk screen time. And yes, that includes the one that you're looking at right now. Well today, I'm going to give you some tips for how to set healthy boundaries for kids early on so you can feel confident taking breaks and know that your kids are developing healthy relationships with screens. (calm music) Welcome Kendyll and Rena. Thank you So nice to have you both here. And I know you're doing your school on the computer, right? So you have to be in front of the screen, but what about other ways you use the screen? I can do a lot with my computer I can like do my schoolwork, go on Zoom meetings, but on my tablet, I can play games, watch movies. Does your mom ever say, "okay that's enough screen time or enough games, we have to do something else." Yeah. Sometimes I'll go back on it. Okay. You're not alone. You're not alone in that. We all do that. First, it's important to know how and why screen time affects children differently than grownups. With younger children, screen time interferes with serve and return time. Serve and return names a familiar interaction pattern where young children serve you by directing your attention to something that they're interested in. As a parent, you return their serve by showing interest, explaining something new in their environment, or playing along when they initiate play. If your children are older, excessive screen time can blunt creative thinking and imagination. For them, boredom can feel especially uncomfortable when actually boredom can be the space where creativity and imagination happen. Here's some activities to try together for a healthier relationship with tech. Do you ever share screen time with your family? I think the most fun thing I've done during quarantine is when me and my brother got out in the porch and we sit on our little hammock swing and we'll watch YouTube or Netflix or Disney+. Hangman, Ticket to Ride, Kettle Smash, a lot of games. A lot of games? Yeah Try playing video games with your child instead of forbidding them outright. This is most effective with younger children who are just building their relationship with technology. Getting to know the games that interest them allows you to help them process what they're experiencing and seeing it in the game. What do you like to do with your family, away from screens? Do you love to bike ride? I love going on family bike rides, of course. We play our favourite game Uno. Yeah. We play a lot of Uno. We got to go to the beach and we find like shiny things in the water. Make a plan with your child to do other activities that they enjoy away from...