As our world becomes more reliant on technology, many families worry about the potential negative impact it can have on their relationships. There are other worries as well, such as how technology impacts mental health, and even physical health.
Some children can notice physical symptoms as a result of looking at a screen for prolonged periods of time. These include:
- Eye discomfort
- Headaches
- Sore or tired eyes
- Problems focusing
- Dry eyes
- Blurred or double vision
- Increased sensitivity to light
- Being less active as a result of a more sedentary lifestyle – the longer we spend looking at a screen, the less we move, and the less active we are.
However, there are some small changes you can make to limit your family’s screen time and connect more with each other.
Start Your Day Without Technology
Make it a rule that your family will be technology free for the first hour of the morning. Instead of everyone being glued to a screen, make breakfast together and sit down together to eat it. Eating together gives everyone a chance to talk about what they have coming up for the day. Keep away from phones, tablets, computers and even the television could stay off.
Try Beginning With Short Periods Of Time Without Technology
Like with breakfast, make dinnertime technology free. Sit down to dinner together and have conversations with each other. You can talk about what happened during your day. You could have your children be involved in preparing dinner beforehand. Even small children can be given an age-appropriate job in the kitchen.
Delete Social Media
If you find that you, and your family, spend a lot of time scrolling through social media, delete the apps. It’s easy to get sucked into a black hole of Facebook content, TikTok, or other social media platforms you use. However, it can become unhealthy, and it can begin to affect your mental health, so give yourself a social media detox. You can reinstall the apps after a period of time.
Be Moderate
Technology isn’t all bad, and it does have many uses and benefits, but only if you can be moderate with it. Set household limits, and base them on age and abilities. This could mean that screen time is limited to an hour or two in the evening. Decide on your screen limits in a way that works for your family. Remember not to be too hard on yourself if you don’t stick to these limits every day, as sometimes things happen that can affect your day-to-day life, routines, and household rules.
Learn A New Skill Together
A great way to connect as a family is to learn a new skill together. Your local area may have some activities that you can do together, or a class you could take. If you don’t want to sign up for something formal, you could do something more informal at home. Perhaps you could get everyone in the kitchen and try out a new recipe, or you could organise a family day out, taking it in turns to choose where you go. Spending time offline doesn’t seem like such a hard task when you’re having fun together.
