No iPads allowed

As a kid in the 1970s, my brother and I roamed free over a couple of miles of east Wichita. We would eat our Cheerios and then head out on our Schwinn bikes to visit the Quiktrip to play Donkey Kong, or to the creek to catch crawdads, or to our elementary school to play on the playground, or to one of our friend’s houses to see what they were up to. Our only instructions from our mom were to stay together and to be home for dinner. I was 9, my brother was 6. It. Was. Heaven! We didn’t have cell phones, we didn’t have watches that tracked us, we didn’t have helmets. We had a few bucks, a thermos of water and snacks in baggies, and the whole glorious day ahead of us.

When my girls came along they were lucky enough to have 2 girls the same ages across the street from them. The four of them were a little gang and would go back and forth between the houses playing inside and outside. One time we found them after a rainstorm in their swimsuits, covered in mud from head to toe. They were like mud monsters with big eyes. I was so proud.

During checkups, I ask kids what they like to do with their free time when they’re not in school. These days many kids spend most of their free time inside the house. A lot of that time is being spent on devices playing video games, watching YouTube, TikTok, or movies. Many toddlers and elementary-aged kids have tablets or iPads and may spend 3 to 4 hours a day interacting with the device. Tweens and teens usually have cell phones and many of them are on those for 5 or 8 hours a day! THIS BEHAVIOR IS NOT GOOD FOR HUMAN BRAINS.

Here’s a great article documenting some of the problems related to our heavy use of technology: https://healthmatters.nyp.org/what-does-too-much-screen-time-do-to-childrens-brains/

I think TV, tablets, and video games lead to issues with speech, reading, learning, attention, aggression, sleep, obesity, anxiety, bullying, isolation, and depression. I think we need to go back to the old days of playing with toys, doing crafts, playing outside, using our imagination, reading, exercising, and (GASP!) helping with chores around the house.

So keep the TV off as much as you can. Do NOT buy tablets for your toddlers. Don’t get your teens a smartphone until they’re in high school. Make a rule that there are no screens allowed Monday through Thursday in your house, and then limit screen time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Set an example for your kids about screens — don’t LOOK at your phone when you’re with them, no phones at the dinner table, spend time as a family with the TV off and instead play a game, do a puzzle, work on a project, take a walk, bake cookies, shoot baskets in the driveway, start reading a book series, help them remodel their bedroom, catch lightning bugs, build a jello model of a cell, start a little garden, or my personal favorite: ride your bikes to the creek and look for crawdads.