In my work with children, teens, and their families, one of the biggest categories of questions and concerns is screen time. Sometimes families want to be prescribed the “right” amount of time. Often families want to make sure that they aren’t doing their digital lives “wrong.” Mostly, families want some general guidelines and to be reassured and empowered to make decisions that feel right to them. The one challenge with the screen time questions is that there is no one size fits all answer, no right and wrong. Every family and child is unique and the way we interact and use our screens is unique, personal, and individual too. Also, not all screen time is created equal. It is nuanced and needs context. This can be quite anxiety-provoking because we’re learning, changing, and improving as we go and not all-knowing. But, it is actually quite normal to have screen use as a dynamic part of family life, not fixed. It shifts with our circumstances, growing right along with our family like any other part.
As a mother of five teenagers who love their screens, I can often feel overwhelmed by digital parenting too (and I think, write, and speak…
