Managing Your Kid’s Screen Time—The Lazy Genius Way

Sometimes you can’t get enough and sometimes you’ve had enough--it’s screen time (for your kids). 

This topic is a big one and at times highly debated. If you search google, there are a plethora of opinions and articles (some that say they’re backed by research) explaining why screen time is beneficial and not beneficial for kids. 

Instead of joining the debate, we’re going to tackle this topic “The Lazy Genius Way”. If you’re not aware of the Lazy Genius principles, you can check out the book on Amazon or listen to a podcast by the Lazy Genius herself, Kendra Adachi. This experienced mother and wife has a motto that she lives by, and it’s to be a genius with the things that matter to you most and lazy with the things that don’t. When it comes to screen time, we won’t be talking about how much screen time is ideal for your kids, or why we should or shouldn’t give screen time to our kids.

No matter what train you’re on, screen time = good or screen time = bad, many parents are tackling with screen time usage at home. Whether it’s the TV or iPad at home or the computer for school work, screen time is prevalent.

With nationwide distance learning last year, screen time hours sky rocketed with people staying indoors. Now that things have normalized a bit, it’s good to think about some parameters you’d like to set in your home. 

The best way to manage your kids’ screen time is what works best for your family. Each family is different, as is each child within the home. What works for little Johnny might not work for Susie. For example, my oldest daughter gets glued to the TV once it’s on. It can be a boring commercial and she just isn’t able to look away. However, my middle child could care less what’s showing on the screen, in fact most times she just runs away. 

As the Lazy Genius puts it, “You get to decide what matters based on your own kids, your own personality, and your own stage of life.”

With that being said, let’s get started on some parameters to help you manage your kid’s screen time.

1. Set a time limit.

Kendra Adachi suggests using a stopwatch for your child’s screen time. Once they’ve used up all the time on their timer they are done for the day. As far as how much time they get, is something you get to decide dependent on your preferences. It’s helpful to take into account your child’s age and how much screen time they can handle. Perhaps screen time for your 6 year old is going to be shorter than screen time for your 10 year old. You do you, and do what works best for your kids.

2. Pick a specific time of day.

Choosing a specific time of day to do screen time is a good way to insert it into your routine. Perhaps you need to get dinner ready at 4pm so you sync it with screen time. Or if you’re like me and still have little ones napping in the afternoon you can coordinate it with “quiet time”. What we do in our home is our oldest reads, colors, or does a silent activity on her own from 2-3pm, and sometimes we allow her to play the Osmo, a playful educational program that turns your device into a learning platform for kids. 

3. After things are done.

The Lazy Genius talks about this point as one that works for some kids, but not her own. This method is sort of like rewarding screen time after kids have done all their homework, chores, or list of things that you’ve designated in order to earn screen time. Some kids will have no problem finishing their list of to-do’s, but for others “...it diminishes the power of the playing and reading and other things by setting screen time against it.”

Again, every child is different and reacts differently. My oldest child would have no problem with this rule, but I can definitely see my middle child brush this off and finding something better to do.

4. Prioritize momentum.

What this means is evaluating how your kids do throughout the rhythm of the day. If you provided screen time for that right after breakfast, are they going to turn into sloths for the remainder of the day? If this is true, then setting a screen time later in the day works better for the overall momentum in the family dynamics and your child’s day. 

5. Go with the flow.

Last but not least, this last parameter is perfect for kids who don’t have the daily expectation of screen time. In this case, the Lazy Genius says “you can actually have your house rule be ‘just ask first’ because you know they won’t ask all the time.” This works great if your child is flexible and doesn’t constantly request screen time.

The goal here is to be intentional with setting parameters that help you and your family. “Everyone needs to parent around screen time differently, and every kid responds to rules around screen time differently. So name what matters to you. Name what matters to your kid. Name what matters about your day.”

Be flexible with the changing needs of yourself and your family. There will be varying seasons that change your family needs. Figuring out what needs you have will help you manage the way you approach your kids’ screen time.

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Ref: https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy/kidscreens