Practice ways to negotiate screen time with your children

Start to negotiate screen time with your child TODAY.
1. Set a plan considering your child's age: Based on the age and maturity of your child, set a reasonable limit to the amount of screen time they may consume every day. Refer to the recommendations of American Academy of Pediatrics as for the screen time per age. Discuss with your child and agree on a week plan. Distinguish between weekday and weekend limits. Differentiate between educational and non-educational material.
2. Teach time management: Instead of playing police, get your child a timer or set the device's timer or set a time limit via parental controls. Agree on the times and check the timer together.
3. Differentiate use and content: Read reviews of any program or game your child uses. Does it promote learning and skills? Is it a creative or consumer oriented activity? Does it promote fear or aggression? It’s important to offer appropriate choices according to age, purpose, time of day and desired outcomes. For example you can allow education-only on weekdays and leave games for the weekend, or you allow games daily but set strict time rules – you decide!
4. Set the terms: After deciding on the rules, negotiate the terms. Sit down together with your child and set terms for: time limit, screen choice, media choice (for example, 30 minutes, tablet, watching an educational video). Set “no-screen” zones (bedroom), “screen breaks” (every 20-minute) and hard rules (no screen at least one hour before bedtime). It’s easier to negotiate with a young child, and this is good, because this is the age when you teach them healthy habits for life. For a teenager, set the general terms and allow them to self-regulate (always with discrete adult monitoring and discussion).
5. Determine consequences: Set a logical consequence if the child refuses to turn-off the device and be consistent. For example, you can ban screens altogether for two or three days. You are the adult, so you have the power to say stop!