Are you on the lookout for some hacks to help you reduce screen time for your kids? Then see these few hacks to try at home

My sister complained about the way she struggles to wake her kids from bed every morning because the kids spend long hours on screen every night.  If she had waited a bit further before talking about this I probably would have been the first to share my experience. A piece of evidence that you are definitely not alone if you are also fighting this battle of screen time in your house. 

There are over 101 parents searching through pages on the internet looking for practical tips to cut down screen time. It is the new disease we are fighting in kids especially after spending so much time at home in recent months and have become so attached to devices. In my house, we have a timetable for screen time and my kids know when to use their devices as well as when to put them out but I personally decided to tone down the regulation during the lockdown. (Lol screen was the saviour then).  After the lockdown and as normalcy returns, I have quickly initiated new hacks after realising how hard it was for them to go back to the initial rules. 

Here are the six hacks that have been helping me reduce screen time for my kids

The Drop Zone

I created a drop zone in the house. The drop zone is a space to keep your home tech-free for a certain period. I didn’t just create this for my kids only. I think we are all guilty of having divided attention in the midst of important conversation and the only culprit here is the screen. I wanted to have a rule that forces everyone to stay off their devices at some particular point in time and I came up with the drop zone. This could either be a box or sack kept in the dining or study room; you can as well choose to observe this session during set times or all the time. When a family member enters the room, they keep their screens in the drop zone and they’re only allowed to get them when they exit. 

The Charging Station

Once it’s bedtime, the charging station is where everyone puts their phone to charge. It’s just a plug or perhaps a multi-socket extension where everyone deposits their devices to get charged overnight. By doing this,  I have auto, automatically taken screens out of the bedroom and the days of staying glued to the screen all night are over. That means more time to sleep and rest well..remember early to bed, early to rise.

Screen-Free Bedrooms

This is like a rule in the house. No televisions, tablets or computers – in the kids’ bedroom, so my kids are not tempted to try. All thanks to our charging station

Make Remotes Incognito

Despite several instructions and rules, kids are bound to get distracted at some point.  So this hack is to simply avoid the temptation to turn to the TV when it’s clearly off-screen time. Simply keep the TV remotes far out of the reach of kids when they’re not in use and bring them out when they’re needed (On-screen time)

Replace gadgets with educational toys

To get your kids to cooperate with your screen time schedule, provide various alternatives for them. Rather than have your kids staring at the wall after the remotes have been made incognito, get them educational toys such as Leggo, puzzle books, and STEM toys to engage their creative minds.

Time Control Apps

I like how technology is causing tons of problems and creating tons of solutions to the problems simultaneously. While you are trying to curb screen time, you can also use the same screen to solve kids getting fat on screen. iOS devices allow you to set Screen Time that helps you to regulate the time you can use any app. No need to switch off WiFi; simply activate the screen time across all the apps your kids use. There is also an android variant for this called App Timers that helps you to set time limits per app.

Which of these hacks will you try out? It’s your call; just be sure you are doing all you can to cut down screen time for your kids. See Six reasons why you should avoid too much screen time for your kids, and don’t forget to click the share button below