Parenting Tip - Ending Screen Time Peacefully

Screen time.  That's a new phrase I didn't know when I was a young mom.  Did you mean screen door?

Nope. 

Screen time.  The time when your child is no longer in the world, but has entered another realm, be it fighting aliens, watching Bob the Builder, or creating his own world with Minecraft. It is very hard to come out of that reality and enter the "now" world.  It's not like going to the park and giving your child a 5 minute warning that you'll be leaving soon.  It's not like giving your child a 15 minute deadline to get his room cleaned.  At times like those, your child is still in this world, he is present in this environment and is alert to what is going on.  Not so when he is in screen time.

 French clinical psychologist, Isabelle Filliozat, has a peaceful, brilliant way to reduce screen time temper tantrums.  Enter your child's  world.  Sit down by her and gently ask a question about what is going on.  "Once the child starts answering your questions or tells you something she has seen or done on screen, it means that she is coming out of the “cut-off” zone and back into the real world. She’s coming out of the state of flow and back into a zone where she is aware of your existence – but slowly. The dopamine doesn’t drop abruptly, because you’ve built a bridge – a bridge between where she is and where you are. You can start to communicate, and this is where the magic happens.

You can choose to start discussing with your child that it’s time to eat, to go have his bath, or simply that screen-time is over now. Because of the minute of easing-in, your child will be in a space where he can listen and react to your request." 

So how do you avoid melt downs when getting your child to end screen time? I encourage you to read this brief, well written article, "How to End Screen Time Without a Struggle."  It explains the science about what is happening in your child's brain when he is in screen time and the technique for scientifically helping his brain adjust back in to the real world. 

Thanks for reading
Cathy
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