One of the best health tips ever is “sit less and move more”. Being active helps the whole family have more energy, gain new skills, and make new friends. However, screen time (e.g. TV time) be a tempting distraction from an active life.
Dear parents, follow these tips to limit screen time for the whole family.
Talk to kids and try to translate the benefits of being active to their own language. Let them know it will lead to more fun with friends.
Lead by example and limit your screen time to no more than two hours per day. If the kids see you breaking your own rule, they are less likely to follow it.
Start a log to track active time vs. screen time daily. Also track how most of the screen time is spent (e.g. TV or computer?). The log will help you decide what changes need to be made.
Set rules by limiting daily screen time for every member of the family. Make sure to enforce the rules.
Use breaks to exercise during screen time. For instance, try to do a few pushups during commercial breaks.
Move the TV out of the bedroom so the kids are more encouraged to spend time with the rest of the family than alone in their rooms.
Don’t Use TV time as reward or punishment so kids do not view screen time as something more important than it actually is.