Helpful Media Practices

There are three critical elements to which parents must attend when it comes to media;

Time limits
Content (what is being used)
Context (how it is being used)

How to Set Time Limits

The American Academy of Pediatricians recommend that children under the age of two have NO screen time at all. Children over two should have no more than 2 hours of screen time per day. In order to work towards this recommendation follow these steps.

For one week, tally the amount of time your children spend in front of a screen (TV, computer, IPad, Smart Phone). If possible, categorize the time by screen type.
Decide what matters and what doesn’t. If you have a child that is spending an hour doing homework in a day, that may be ‘exempted’ from the total tally.
Set your rules on time spent with each screen.

To enforce your rules consider the following.

Move all screens to a common family area. Having any screen available in a bedroom or private area is highly discouraged.
Schedule media events. Retrain your family to use media only during certain times of the day. Consider turning off the TV that always provides background noise or the computer that is never powered off. Learn to record media that you want to view and then play it back during the designated time.
Understand that many video games do require a player to reach a certain level before the game can be saved. Factor this into your time limits.
Remember that all screens can be unplugged or powered off.

How to Monitor Content and Context

The best way to monitor the content and context of media is to co-view with your children. When a parent sits down with his or her children and actually views what is being shown discussion can occur. Parents can point out the major ideas, ask questions about the children’s perception of the program, watch for reactions (like fear or aggression) and share his or her views. Co-viewing increases the likelihood that the media is being used as a helpful learning tool.

As children get a little more independent, it’s a very good idea to filter and monitor their Internet access. The Internet is a great tool, but it also provides easy access to great evil. A system like CovenantEyes helps parents not only to filter out the worst of the bad stuff, but to monitor how much time your child spends online, and what he or she is searching for and viewing. CovenantEyes can send parents a weekly report. And the beautiful thing about this report is that it gives parents the opportunity to discuss media usage with your child. This gives our child the opportunity to grow in wisdom and virtue regarding their media practice, whereas filtering alone may protect their innocence but does not teach media discernment. Click here to learn more about CovenantEyes and to sign up for a free trial of their service.