How to Handle Screen Time and Aggression

- User Submitted

I don't know if we can actually say there's a direct correlation between that, the usage and anger. But I think what we can say as a parent, in that specific case, I would want to say, what are you observing, mom or dad? What are you experiencing? And, and, and then what happens if I reduce their screen time? Do I get a change? I'll give you an, a research based article. They actually look at children with, uh, depression, anxiety. They had them go into a, a, a week long retreat in the hills and the mountains, and what happens without their devices? They came down a few days later and their mental health was actually better than when it went up. And, and there's something about being away from these devices. So I can't give a direct correlation between anger and usage other than what is the child consuming? I wanna know what they're consuming on the app, what they're observing, and, and then what happens when I start to create boundaries to protect my child? As parents, we need to be very intentional about that usage because if we aren't, then what happens is they feel like, uh, maybe a sense of entitlement. I, I, I deserve this, this is my phone. And I think as parents, we need to be educators. This is a device that can be used for so many different things. And, and there are some companies that actually say, okay, we're gonna do something like a gab phone, so you're not gonna be able to use some of these apps. You're not gonna be able to get some of access to these things. That's just an example that some parents use to make sure that their children are being more, uh, intentional about what can be on their device and what can't be on their device. But I think as parents, it's like, we weren't prepared for this. We really weren't prepared. And so helping our children understand, you know, when, like, for example, with our son, uh, I've got eight children, and, um, we had a conversation with him and my daughter about what, what it means to have a cell phone. And, um, as we talked about the meaning of it, like what, what's the, what's the purpose of this thing when you, when you get it? Well, so I can communicate with my friends. Okay, what else can you do with that phone? And so we talk about every app that's on their, on their phone. We talk about every, their communication, just so they're aware. I educate my children on what the research shows about anxiety and usage. So I want my children to understand intentionally about what's actually happening or what can happen with excessive use. And I'll share the research with them so they understand what's actually happening. And I think we want to be educated parents so we can inform and help our children.

Important: The use of parentguidance.local/ and the content on this website does not form a therapist/patient relationship with any clinician or coach.

Answered by:

Picture of Dr. Kevin Skinner

Dr. Kevin Skinner