Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool
Dear Friends,
Recently, I have been seeing how using computers, tablets, and smartphones has become a distraction to the things going on around us. While they “connect” us virtually, they can disconnect us from the people we are in direct contact with on a daily basis.
Videos, games, social media, and Internet Surfing all take us away to places in our minds. Sometimes this is good and productive, and sometimes it is not. Our society has a big problem with pornography. The internet brings it right into your home with a few clicks or taps. Do you regularly check browser history and your children’s devices?
Screens can become an addiction to some. They can numb the mind and cause personality changes in someone.
People can get caught up in a virtual world and completely forget they are actually in a real world. I almost wrote “living in a real world,” but they really are not living a very enjoyable life.
Gaming on computers or devices is a time waster, and it can consume a large portion of one’s day easily. Limit your screen time, and limit the screen time your children have each day. It is one thing if you are using a computer or tablet to work or use for school, but if screen time is a significant part of the day with games and social media, you need to set limits and use a timer.
Playing video games shortens your attention span. This applies to children and adults. I know I have a little ADD myself, and a couple of my children have been diagnosed with ADHD. I have found that gaming really makes their symptoms worse. If I balance their game time with large muscle activities, it helps balance them out.
Serious gamers tend to not get enough exercise, so use exercise incentives for screen time privileges. This will help their minds and their bodies.
When you are stressed, do you go to a screen to self-medicate? This is not an escape from stress or your problems. If you are stressed, find a way to relieve the stress and don’t reach for your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Go for a walk. Talk to someone in person or call them. If you notice your children using screen time to “escape” help them find other ways to relax and unwind.
If your family has a problem with games and screens, get a basket to put them in. You can put the basket away for certain periods during the day. In the evening, don’t allow screen time after 8:00 pm. Charge all of the devices in one area. We do this in our living room, but you could do it in the kitchen. Do not charge them in your room. Do not let your children and teens charge their phones or devices in their bedrooms.
What are some safety precautions you take in your home for Internet safety and limiting screen time?
Today’s Zone Mission is to clean under the dining room table.
Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.
My menu plan for Thursday is chicken and a salad.
Have a great day!
Another keeper, Tami! Saving this to my “parenting” folder. What a good reminder. We just got back from a vacation in which we did not have wifi. We don’t have data plans on our phones so we spent a lovely week with zero internet! I read two books!
I’m glad to see this message of ours today as reacclimate to the wifi world and can reassess what works for us. Curious…what sort of time limits do you set for yourself and kids? I’m always debating that one in my head…whether I’m too strict or not. Please don’t feel like you have to share if that’s too private 
Hi, Stephanie,
Thank you! This is one that most of us struggle with. How much screen time is appropriate? Take a look at your schedule and your children’s schedules. Figure out how much time you want to budget to screen time. Divide it into morning, afternoon, and evening to make it easier to figure out. Think in terms of 15 minute increments. You can find a balance.
Blessings, Tami