Organizing for Kids and Family What To Do When Screen Time Becomes a Major Distraction When the chores you asked your kids to do hours ago are still undone, and the reason is due to endless hours being spent on smart phones, tablets, computer, TVs, and video games, it’s probably a good idea to begin limiting that screen time. Excessive screen time has been linked to childhood obesity, lack of sleep, problems in school, lack of social skills, and other physical ailments. Coming up with ways to track electronics usage and set down house rules, without causing a world war, can be tricky, but it definitely can be done. I thought I’d share a few ideas that you can try in your own home. • Create a charging center in your bedroom. Make sure your kids are not skipping sleep and staying up all night on their devices by keeping the devices in your bedroom with YOU at night. Create a charging station in your room. Set a time for devices to leave their hands and be delivered to the charging station in your bedroom each night. • Make meal times off limits. (That includes mom and dad!) Have a basket on the kitchen island or counter and phones must go in the basket at each meal…sound turned off. • Get tech savvy. There are a number of apps available for parents that allow you monitor phone and social media usage of your child. Get one and keep track. • Use a reward system. Allow a limited amount of screen time with your child having the option to earn extra screen time (or less screen time) depending on their grades, chores, and behavior. Create a reward chart so everyone is clear what the reward will be. • Draw the TV Line. That means. set boundaries to limit too much TV viewing. No TV in the bedroom is a good start. TV off during meals and during homework is another good rule. • Encourage Outdoors. Encourage and participate in anything that gets your child moving and outside. • Be a good role model. If the kids see the parents constantly on their devices, it’s sending a clear message out to the kids. When parents hold themselves to the same rules as the kids (or similar), limiting screen time with the kids will be less of a battle.