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By Nicole Reis

Screen Time Awareness Week

Students encouraged to reduce screen time for better health

Dec 9, 2019 | 12:41 PM

Students at Gateway Middle School are challenged to reduce time spent in front of electronic devices during Screen Time Awareness Week

Greg Ackerman, principal at the school, said classroom and at-home activities are planned to encourage students to be more active instead of playing video games or watching TV.

“We’re doing a screen time awareness BINGO which involves reducing screen time and being safe and healthy with it. Teachers are given information on the effects of excessive screen time on the brain. As adults we need to be reminded of that too,” he said.

According to ActionforKids.org, the more time children engage with screens, the harder time they have turning them off as they become older. They suggest limiting screen time to two hours per day.

Ackerman said cellphones are allowed at school for emergencies or the occasional classroom learning opportunity though are mainly kept in lockers during recess or personal time.

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Screen time has been linked to eating more, having trouble sleeping and poor performance in school.

Families can reduce screen time at home in the following ways.

• Turn bedrooms into “no screen zones.” Kids who have TVs in their rooms tend to watch about 1.5 hours more TV per day than those who don’t. Move all televisions, computers, tablets, etc. into the family room.
• Designate one or more days per week as “screen-free” days, where physical activity, reading and spending quality time together are prioritized.
• Set firm limits for using screens. For example, no video games on school nights or no electronic devices an hour before bedtime.
• Turn off electronic devices during dinner. Make use of the time together to talk about the day.
• Get active when you do spend time in front of the TV screen. Stretch, practice yoga, walk on a treadmill or lift weights. Challenge everyone to see who can do the most knee bends or leg lifts during commercial breaks.
• Create a TV viewing guide with your children, and teach them to schedule out the shows they would like to watch during the week. If you have TiVo or a DVR, record your child’s favorite shows and allow him or her to view them at specific times during the week.
• When your children’s friends gather at your house, limit the amount of time they play video games. After 20 to 30 minutes of playing, suggest the children move on to something else that does not involve a screen, like playing a board game, starting a game of hide and seek, or playing outside.
• Be a good role model and limit your time in front of a screen to no more than two hours per day, too. If kids see you following your own rules and being active, then they’ll be more likely to follow your example.
• Make it a game. Place activity ideas in a jar. Whenever the family would typically watch a screen, pull an idea out of the jar instead and do it together.
• Try new hobbies. Replace screen time with something more active. Join a club, discover a new talent, or sign up for physical activity class at your local community center.

Students with physical limitations are more prone to excessive screen time since being active is sometimes a greater challenge.

Screen Time Awareness week activities will be tallied on Dec. 16.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722