Canada seeks to ban social media accounts for children under 16, joining growing global effort<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSUMMER VACATION IS ALMOST HERE. SO IS THE MISSION FOR PARENTS TO PRY THEIR KIDS AWAY FROM SCREENS AND GET THEM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE, BUT THAT CAN BE AN UPHILL BATTLE. NUMBERS FROM THE ACADEMY OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY SHOW KIDS 8 TO 18 YEARS OLD SPEND 7.5 HOURS A DAY WATCHING OR USING SCREENS, ON AVERAGE, FAR MORE THAN EXPERTS RECOMMEND. WE ARE ESSENTIALLY PUTTING AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF KIDS IN AN UNCONTROLLED EXPERIMENT WITH THE AMOUNT OF SOCIAL MEDIA THAT\u2019S OUT THERE, WITH HOW ADDICTIVE THESE PHONES ARE, AND ALL OF IT TIES TOGETHER. AND WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY HAPPEN IN FIVE AND TEN AND 20 YEARS. ANOTHER RECENT STUDY FOUND KIDS WHO SPENT MORE TIME ON SCREENS SCORED LOWER ON STANDARDIZED READING AND MATH TESTS, COMPARED TO KIDS WHO USED SCREENS LESS OR NOT AT ALL. AND WITH SUMMER UPON US, IT\u2019S A GOOD TIME TO START THOSE HEALTHIER HABITS. SO HOW DO YOU KEEP KIDS SAFE? SET THEM ON THE RIGHT PATH AND JUST STRIKE THAT PROPER BALANCE. LET\u2019S DISCUSS WITH TRACI FOSTER. WELCOME BACK TO THE PROGRAM. SHE\u2019S A CO-FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SCREEN SANITY, WHICH IS A NATIONAL NONPROFIT GROUP FOUNDED BY MOMS IN OUR AREA HELPING PARENTS WITH THIS ISSUE. WE\u2019VE GOT A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE THE BELLS RING FOR SUMMER, WHICH IS CRAZY THIS YEAR. JUST FLOWN RIGHT BY. WHAT SHOULD PARENTS BE DOING RIGHT NOW WHEN IT COMES TO SCREEN TIME AND JUST HEALTHY HABITS? I THINK THE FIRST THING IS STARTING TO THINK OF A PLAN, BECAUSE THE BIGGEST REASON WHY SCREENS CREEP IN IS BECAUSE THERE\u2019S NOTHING ELSE THERE. YOU DON\u2019T HAVE ANY OTHER INTENTIONALITY OR ANYTHING ELSE TO HANG YOUR SCHEDULE ON, AND IT\u2019S A TRANSITION TIME. SO YOUR ROUTINE HAS GONE OUT THE WINDOW. ONE OF MY TOP RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD BE SCREEN SANITY HAS A SUMMER BUCKET LIST. IT\u2019S A GREAT WAY TO SIT AT A FAMILY MEAL AND SAY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO THERE? THERE\u2019S A SECTION ON THINGS TO READ, PEOPLE TO SEE, SKILLS YOU MIGHT WANT TO LEARN, AND TECHNOLOGY MIGHT ACTUALLY WEAVE INTO SOME OF THOSE AREAS, BUT IT\u2019S GREAT TO START BY SETTING A ROADMAP FOR WHAT DO WE HOPE FOR THIS SUMMER. YEAH, YOU ALWAYS MAKE A POINT OF SAYING SCREEN TIME ISN\u2019T ALL BAD. THERE\u2019S A BALANCE. THERE\u2019S ABSOLUTELY A BALANCE. IT\u2019S NOT JUST ABOUT QUANTITY. IT\u2019S ACTUALLY ABOUT QUALITY. SO WE CAN PUT ALL SCREEN TIME INTO THREE CATEGORIES CREATING, WHICH IS THINGS LIKE USING A 3D PRINTER OR GETTING A RECIPE OR ANYTHING THAT ALLOWS TECHNOLOGY TO HELP YOU MAKE SOMETHING CONNECTING, WHICH IS TEXTING WITH PEOPLE, FACETIMING WITH PEOPLE, ACTUALLY CONNECTING WITH HUMANS AND THEN CONSUMING, WHICH IS WATCHING MR. BEAST VIDEOS OR SCROLLING SOCIAL MEDIA. AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY BAD, BUT IT\u2019S ALMOST LIKE THE TOP OF THE FOOD PYRAMID. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SWEETS, LIKE THOSE SHOULD BE IN MODERATION. WHEREAS CREATING AND CONNECTING, YOU CAN HAVE RELATIVELY LARGE DOSES OF THOSE, AND YOU WILL PROBABLY NOTICE THAT IT DOESN\u2019T HAVE THE THE ZOMBIE LIKE EFFECTS ON YOU OR YOUR KIDS. YEAH. GOOD POINT. WE LAST TALKED A FEW YEARS AGO, RIGHT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PANDEMIC, HAVE HABITS CHANGED AS FAR AS USAGE? WHAT ARE YOU SEEING? YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE THING THAT\u2019S REALLY EXCITING TO ME IS THAT THERE ARE SOME NEW PRODUCTS OUT ON THE MARKET THAT HELP MAKE IT EASIER FOR US TO ACHIEVE WHAT WE\u2019RE HOPING FOR, WHILE NOT HAVING TO GIVE INTO SCREENS. SO I\u2019LL SHARE ONE OF THOSE. OKAY. ONE OF OUR FAVORITES THAT\u2019S JUST ROLLING OUT ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT ESPECIALLY HOT HERE IN KANSAS CITY, IS A LANDLINE PHONE. OH MY GOSH, THESE EXIST. YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO KIDS WHAT THESE ARE. OH. WHEN THEY RING FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU\u2019VE GOT TO MAKE SURE YOU\u2019RE VIDEOING THAT BECAUSE IT\u2019S LIKE SO STARTLING. AND HOW DO YOU EVEN. YOU HOLD IT UP TO YOUR EAR, WHICH NONE OF US, VERY FEW OF US HOLD OUR CELL PHONES UP. BUT THIS IS BY A COMPANY CALLED TIN CAN. IT\u2019S A WIRELESS PHONE, A WIRELESS LANDLINE, SO YOU DON\u2019T NEED TO HAVE A PORT. BUT IT ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO CALL, CONNECT, MAKE, SCHEDULE, PLAY DATES, PLAN TO GO TO THE PARK WITHOUT KIDS HAVING TO HAVE MORE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. AND SCREEN SANITY HAS PROMOTED THIS, LIKE ORDERING A PIZZA. THINGS LIKE THAT. USING A LANDLINE. YES, YOU CAN USE THE LANDLINE TO STAY CONNECTED AND ALSO TO BUILD RESPONSIBILITY. I MEAN, YOUR KIDS SCHEDULING THEIR OWN PLAYDATES, THAT\u2019S ACTUALLY MEANINGFUL RESPONSIBILITY THAT THEY COULD AND SHOULD DO THAT. WE ALL DID WHEN WE WERE KIDS, EITHER THROUGH LANDLINES OR WALKING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO FIND PEOPLE TO PLAY WITH. ANY LAST WORDS OF ADVICE FOR PARENTS? MY LAST WORD WOULD BE, IT IS OKAY IF YOUR KIDS SAY THAT THEY\u2019RE BORED. NOWADAYS, OUR KIDS SAY IT AND IT\u2019S LIKE TAKEN AS AN INSULT THAT WE AREN\u2019T BEING A GOOD PARENT, BUT WE DO NOT NEED TO BE CRUISE DIRECTORS. ALLOWING OUR KIDS TO BE BORED HELPS THEM FIND THEIR OWN WAY OF PUSHING THROUGH AND DOING THINGS. SO PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK. GIVE THEM 20 TO 25 MINUTES TO WORK THROUGH THAT AGONY. AND IT\u2019S ALL GOOD, RIGHT? THEY\u2019LL BE BETTER ON THE OTHER SIDE. ALL RIGHT. TRACY FOSTER, GREENE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU CAN FIND ALL KINDS OF RESOURCES, HANDY TIPS, TOOLS THAT BUCKET LIST, EVEN DOWNLOADABLE PLANNERS AND PLAYBOOKS FOR YOUR FAMILY BY GOING TO SCREEN SANITY.ORG. WE’\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n