Summer is Here - So is Screen-time Excess
Now that school is out for most primary grade students, parents face their summer challenge - keeping kids occupied without it devolving into hours and hours of video watching, videogames and social media. And with little guidance from health professionals, parents are challenged to even know what is a reasonable limit for screen-time. How can this be done. We have some tips.
1. Start with the Right Mindset - Summer should be a time for enrichment.
The hustle and bustle of the school week is over for now and your kids need a break BUT they also need to continue to learn, grow and mature. Just like you might plan a summer vacation, you must also plan for your children to continue on their journey and end the summer in a better place, ready and prepared for another school year. Think about summer camp, outdoor activities, sports and travel. More about enrichment later.
2. Prioritize outdoor and out of the home activities.
Get your kids out of the house with both independent (age appropriate) and structured play time WITHOUT screen devices! Lots of great resources for this come from Outside Play (https://www.outsideplay.org/), Care.com maintains a directory of activities based on you zip code and interests.
3. Give children choices between two or more enrichment / outdoor activities but doing nothing is not an option!
This approach helps children feel they have a choice and encourages participation.
4. Don’t overcommit yourself or your child. This time should be fun with low stress.
Schedule the week and map out their activities. Write down their schedule on a calendar, color code the types of activities and look at the resulting schedule. Is this too much for them? Is this too much for me?
5. Reward your child for participation with limited media entertainment towards the end of the day.
Reward participation with entertainment time - videos, videogame play, social media in the early evening after dinner.
6. Don’t allow periods of media bingeing by your child.
Stick with recommended screen time limits for your child. Click here for our recommendations. Spoiler Alert - Sorry but it probably a lot less than your child is accustomed to. Note that limited media time will make you accountable for keeping your child active during the day.
The LaunchPad can Help
The Sentinel LaunchPad Exploration Modes should not be a replacement for outside enrichment activities but can be used to supplement outside enrichment, especially when weather, illness or other conditions prevent participation, Guided Exploration allows a child to safely explore the age informed curated content and up to 8 parent selected sites.
Guided Exploration Mode Main screen for online exploration.
Other Potential Enrichment Ideas
You may already have some ideas. Your child may have abandoned previously enjoyed enriching activities and reintroducing them to these activities may give them the opportunity to reconnect with the pleasure they once enjoyed. Here are just a small number of ideas:
Visual Arts, Drawing/Illustration, Painting, Sculpture, Photography & Graphics Design
Culinary Arts, Home and Interior Design, Woodworking, Automobile maintenance
Music Education/Performing/Production, Acting, Theatre & Video/Film Production
Travel, History, Religion, Humanities, Literature & Creative Writing
Science, Medicine, Technology, Engineering & Math
Programming, Coding, Information Technology & Website Design
Business, Finance, Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Life Skills, Careers, Self-Exploration & Personal Wellbeing
Camping, Backpacking, Hiking, Fishing, Boating, Snowboarding, Skiing & Scouting
Extracurricular Sports, Gym, Rock Wall Climbing, Dancing, Walking & Home Exercise
Volunteering and Employment Opportunities – Serving and Helping Others & Internships
For some enrichment opportunities, local availability may be limited or too expensive. Fortunately, on-line enrichment programs in the arts, music, science, computers, programming and business have emerged. We recommend you seek out local in-person opportunities before on-line. This is because these will afford another enrichment opportunity for your child to meet like-minded children in your local vicinity.
In order to identify opportunities in your area we can offer the following suggestions.
1. Community based organizations – your city, town or community might sponsor activities for children and teens at low cost. A Google search or a visit to the City Web page might lead to sports, art and various activities for Summer and after school.
2. Community service and volunteer opportunities – searching the web or from sites like Volunteermatch.com can help you identify volunteer opportunities for both short term and longer term internships. One interesting development over the pasts few years is that many of these opportunities are highly sought after and this results in a highly competitive application process. Your local church or synagogue may have opportunities to serve.
3. Computer Programming, Robotics and STEM Classes and Groups – there are a number of computer coding, robotics and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math children and teen classes forming throughout the country. A web search can help you locate these programs.
4. Sports Activities – besides school based sports, there are a great number of programs available nationwide. There are nationwide programs such as Little League baseball and Pop Warner football but there are many local programs started by school coaches. These programs vary in their goals for their students. Some a teams and leagues are oriented towards high achieving athletes and others for more casual play. Cost of participation can be significant for parents and some programs have scholarships for low income families.
5. Music and Theatre Arts – besides school based programs, many communities have music teachers that either have a teaching studio or will come to your home to teach music and how to play a music instruments. Today, learning to play the piano does not require you to purchase or rent a piano. Inexpensive 88 key, full weighted electronic keyboards are readily available. Likewise, many communities offer children’s theatre programs. You child can be involved as a cast member or a crew member depending on their interests and goals.
6. Art Programs – most communities have some type of low cost or free art classes for young children. For older children and teens, you will need to look a bit harder. Some schools, colleges and cities sponsor weekend and summer classes at fairly low cost. If you live near a community with art studios, some of these will have in-studio instruction classes.
7. Adventure Activities – there are a number of activities that you child can participate in to gain physical fitness, instill values and build self-esteem. These range from family activities like camping and hiking to organized activities such as scouting or wilderness programs. One consideration is that all outdoor or wilderness activities carry certain safety risks. If you are experienced in backpacking and wilderness camping, doing this as a family event might be a great idea. If not, perhaps camping at a local park or campground might make more sense. Other adventure ideas include water activities such as boating, water skiing and fishing. Again all of these activities involve risk.
Scouting
Boy Scouts (https://www.scouting.org/) and Girl Scouts (https://www.girlscouts.org/) are the best known organized groups for enrichment of young people in the United States. Despite the declining membership, scandals and financial struggles (https://youtu.be/iv_clxpFs_8), these organizations for more than 100 years have served to enrich the lives of millions of young boys and girls. Boy Scouts of America, has over the past decade, expanded the acceptance of gay, transsexual and female members as well as allowing openly gay scout leaders and volunteers. While this choice may have alienated certain groups and membership declined as a result, the Boy Scouts of America continues today aa one of the largest organizations of its kind in the US.
Scouting is sponsored and supported by schools, churches, community organizations and small businesses and through sales of cookies and other products. The biggest difficulty parents face:
Tweens and teen children will resist participation. It is considered “uncool” and “nerdy”. Scouting directly promotes values and personal qualities that often come in conflict with the popular culture. The reason for this is simple. Millions, if not billions of dollars are being spent in the US to sell, including music, videos, cosmetics, clothing and other products to younger and younger children with the promotion of titillating adult lifestyles. This includes sexually suggestive and explicit content. Today’s media exposure conflicts with values promoted by scouting by suggesting – “you are just as smart, capable and mature as adults and should be able to enjoy all adult privileges”.
It takes a significant time commitment for the child. 11-14 year olds spending 9 hours in front of screens for entertainment each day is not an accident but driven by market forces.
It represents a significant time and financial commitment by the parents. Uniforms, camping supplies, dues and more can be a challenge for lower income parents. Fund raising and local sponsorship can help however these costs are real.
Overcoming the stigma associated with scouting’s history, particularly The Boy Scouts of America. Many parents may refuse to have their child participate in scouting because of the false belief that sexual and political issues dominate scouting or that their child is at risk of abuse. They might be embarrassed to admit to family and friends their child is a scout because of the publicity associated with lawsuits associated with decades old abuse allegations and the BSA bankruptcy.
Parental values not consistent with those promoted by certain scouting organizations. Traditional values taught, for example the Boy Scouts of America, include patriotism to the United States of America (the Pledge of Allegiance is recited at the opening of scout meetings) and encouraging belief in a “God” (BSA is not however a religious organization) may come in conflict with parental values. Inclusion of scouts and volunteers of different sexual orientations in BSA may also conflict with parental values. Research alternative programs in your community such as:
Navigators USA (http://navigatorsusa.org)
Campfire (http://www.campfire.org)
Outdoor Service Guides (https://outdoorserviceguides.org/)
SpiralScouts International (http://www.spiralscouts.org)