With the arrival of school holidays, a common concern resurfaces between fathers and mothers: Excessive time in the face of our children's screens. During the holidays, it is easy to fall into the temptation to resort to mobile devices, tablets or consoles to keep them entertained when they get bored.

¡Unete and me telegram channel so you don't miss anything! 😊

Instagram for families: positive education and children's activities 💛

¡Nuevo! Instagram for teachers: educational resources and ICT tools 👩🏻‍🏫

Guide to manage the use of screens during school holidays

When screens are used in moderation, with educational and supervised purposes, they can be a valuable learning tool. But when the use of screens becomes excessive or the content they consume is inappropriate, a problem arises that can negatively affect the health and development of our children.

As adults, it is important Establish clear standards With respect and empathy. Below I share some strategies to prevent these vacation days from becoming a constant struggle about the use of screens:

1. Establish standards

Although during the holidays we can be more flexible, children and adolescents still need clear and agreed rules. It is important to dialogue to establish standards on the use of screens:

Time: According to the Spanish Pediatrics Association, it is necessary to limit the time of exposure to screens according to the children's age:

• Children under 3 should not have access to screens.
• From 2 to 5 years the exhibition should not exceed an hour a day.
• From 5 years the exhibition should be less than two hours a day.

Content: Content quality is even more important than exposure time. For example, it is not the same half an hour playing an educational game to review mathematics content, which half an passive hour in front of television. We must ensure that the content they see is suitable for their age, without violence or exposure to inappropriate ads.

Space: It is recommended that the screens be in common areas of the house, where we can supervise their use and interact with them.

If your children already have mobile phone, this can be useful family contract for the correct use of mobile prepared by the Learn to look at.

I also leave you this pfree lantilla To elaborate your own Family digital agreement where you can write down the rules of use of screens that you establish in your family.

2. alternatives to screens

Let's encourage alternative activities fun without using screens, such as crafts, excursions or family games.

3. Establish moments of disconnection

We agree Specific moments of the day without screens, as during meals, outdoors or before sleeping.

4 .mark example

Our habits mark the behavior of our children. So, instead of simply establishing rules, let's show with the example a Responsible use of technology.

5. Keep calm and empathy

Despite the established norms, children may want to skip them. At this time, Let's keep calm and remember the norm with empathy and firmness. For example: «I see that you are just seeing this chapter. When we finish we will turn off the TV. Do I turn it off or do you prefer to turn it off?