5 tips to raise healthier and balanced children on the screen according to the “media-scientist”

Enter media-Trican. Dr. Rich is co-founder and director of Digital Wellness Lab and the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders at Harvard Children’s Hospital, and author of A mediatric guide: a joyful approach to raise healthy, intelligent and kind children in a world saturated screen. As a doctor and researcher, he adopts a more nuanced approach to help children develop with screens.

“You have to stop talking about internet security,” said Dr. Rich, “because it starts from the presumption that the Internet is dangerous. We should talk about internet mastery with young people and in fact with all of us, because it is an environment in which we must all work. ”

I sat with the self-written “mediatrician” In the last episode of The globe Where he has traveled to me what the digital well-being laboratory and the clinic for interactive media and internet disorders see on a daily basis, how their research sheds light on parents and the tangible stages that parents can take to develop healthy screen habits with their children.

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Here are 5 tips for a healthy balance in life to Dr. Rich’s life, the “mediatrician”:

Tip 1: Change your state of mind on the screen time of a binary to a spectrum

The screens are not all bad or good. The Internet is not a single -shop brainrot store. Technology has a range of utility and entertainment for its users, and it is useful to think about it in this way, even if this full spectrum includes harmful content.

Tip 2: Abandon screen time controls based on “restrictions”, rather to prioritize Non screen time

Although it is tempting to reduce the overall time of the screen and hope that a healthier behavior will take its place, most parental controls based on restrictions do not really encourage children to fill the gaps with healthier habits. Instead, try to prioritize non -screen activities such as cooking, walking in a library, making a pillow or board games.

“Screen times have never worked, even with television.” Said Dr. Rich, “and they can’t work now because we cannot even measure screen time. We have moved transparently in and out of digital and physics. And therefore one of the approaches I take is to have a dedicated non-screen time every day because it is much easier to control.”

Tip 3: Make the memories first and publish in second position

We do not remember what we do on the screens, but we remember the activities that we do with dear beings. Try to offer activities outside the same way as with your child and take photos and videos along the way. You will have memories to cherish and content yourself with publishing together, which will make activity and socialization feel like a joint effort and model a healthy online behavior.

Tip 4: Modeling the right behavior

If you are sitting for hours taking off, your child will model your behavior. As they become adolescents and rebellicity comes into play, convince your child to “do what I say and not as I do” will not be as effective as demonstrating (and prospering) a balanced lifestyle.

If you need to be connected as part of your work or for other obligations, show your child what you do for work and why you need the online tools you use. Bring them to the reasoning of this as much as possible. Use it as a teaching moment to show your children how and when technology is useful for your life, and in particular what you do in life.

It takes time and the results will be progressive, but the additional advantage of improving your own lifetime screen balance.

Tip 5: devote time to teaching (and learning) to media and Internet literacy

Internet is Surhighway information, but it is also a garbage chute. Teaching your children to recognize what is worth paying attention and what is not a crucial competence that will be beneficial to them for the rest of their lives. Encourage your child to practice critical thinking with the media they meet online. Sit together and analyze an article on social networks. Teach the means to search for your children and the veterinarians they find online. Take a discussion on the dinner table on online trends. “What is the strangest thing you have seen online today?” is not only a good way to stay connected to your child’s internet footprint, but also a lively conversation and an opportunity to teach.

To an equal extent, learn from your children how their favorite online game works or which applications have the funniest memes. The best thing about the constantly evolving nature of technology is that everyone learns together. Give roles with your child and give him the opportunity to teach you. You will learn something new and you can monitor your child’s online activity without feeling like a police officer.

Listen A mediatric guide On the Podcast Globe for more information from Dr. Rich.

Jazmin Aguilera is contacted at jazmin.aguilera@globe.com. Follow her @jazminaguilerax.