Tag Archives: kids

Pandemic parenting: 6 Ways to rethink screentime for kids & teens

If you’re worried about screentime for your kids and how to guide their use of digital tech this fall, join me online Tuesday, August 27th for a one-hour parenting webinar, Smartphones, Sexting & Social Media: What Parents Need to Know. Tickets are $11.50 CDN, tax included. Click here to register.

When lockdowns and restrictions first hit us all back in March, parents understandably abandoned most (if not all) of the screen time rules in their homes. As we all grappled with what this meant for our jobs, our families, our kids’ learning, our businesses, our elderly parents, and our communities, it really didn’t matter if we had to briefly resort to electronic babysitting to keep everyone sane.

kids on smartphoness

The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Summer offered some respite with good weather and a chance to go outdoors. With an uncertain school year about to begin and families everywhere facing the prospect of online schooling part of full-time, screen time is once again on everyone’s minds. Here are some practical ways to think through screen time for kids of all ages.

Distinguish between active and passive screen time. Not all screen time is created equal. Composing music, editing video, writing a blog or coding a game is creative, productive work that stimulates young brains, quite unlike the entirely passive drool-inducing experience of watching YouTube live streams or videos of other people playing online games. If your kids are devoting time to schoolwork and creative pursuits online and not (just) scrolling endlessly through Instagram or Tik Tok, you’ll want to cut them some slack. Online school and homework is work, so it’s only fair to balance that with some online fun, but steer kids to the creative stuff where possible and help them be mindful of time spent on the rest of it.

Involve your kids in creating family tech agreements. Even young kids can help come up with guidelines for your family, and teens will appreciate having some say in how things are supposed to work. Critical discussions about the whys of screen time are as important as the whats.

Set up device-free spaces and times. Everyone needs breaks. Mealtimes should be device-free, wherever possible (that includes parents). Experts also agree that, at the very least, beds should not be places where devices are used. If you have space, consider creating device-free reading nooks, play areas, or places for socializing. All devices (including phones) should be charged out of bedrooms overnight. (Yes, that also means you.)

Protect kids online. Small kids, school-aged children, tweens and young teens need help to stay safe from identity theft, phishing, online harassment and predators. Set up parental controls on devices and SafeSearch on browsers. Set up strict privacy controls on online apps and games. Insist on approval for all new accounts and games and record usernames and passwords. Enlist your kids’ help to research new accounts and privacy settings – Common Sense Media is a fantastic free resource for reviews on apps, games, movies and TV.

Model good digital hygiene. Your kids are watching everything you do, so if you perpetually take calls during dinner, interrupt bedtime stories or family movie night or walk around all the time with your AirBuds in, they are silently taking notes. Phones off during mealtimes, give your kids your full attention when you are having a serious conversation or doing an activity together, and remove your devices from your bedroom overnight.

Help them (and you) find some balance. If school and work do end up being online for you and your kids, it’s more important than ever to find a balance between digital media and the other important things in life. If you’re finding that the time they spend online is unhealthy, create a checklist to remind them that every day should also include:

  • Creative time (music, writing, art, etc.)
  • Physical activity
  • Chores
  • Face-to-face interaction with family/ friends
  • Sufficient sleep
  • Personal hygiene

Want to learn more about guiding your kids’ use of digital tech? Click here to register for my Tuesday, Aug. 27th (7:30 p.m. EDT) parenting Zoom webinar, Smartphones, Sexting & Social Media: What Parents Need to Know. full of practical suggestions. Bring your questions! Tickets: $11.50 CDN (tax included)

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In the News: Talking to CTV News About Kids, Screens, Gaming & Social Media

Alissa Sklar CTV News

CTV News Reporter Caroline Van Vlaardingen stopped by for a discussion with me about kids, digital technology, smartphones, gaming and social media, as part of the larger discussion about mental health issues for Bell Let’s Talk day on January 30th.

Here’s an edited look at what I had to say.

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When is a soda not a soda?

My 14-year-old daughter stopped at the dep on her way home from school last week, looking for a snack after a lengthy extra-curricular activity. The depanneur (convenience store) is right next to the school and very familiar with the teen students in their plaid kilt uniforms. 

Smirnoff Raspberry Soda

Deceptive packaging makes this look like a regular soda.

She bought a can of low-calorie raspberry soda and hopped on the bus home. But the soda tasted strange. Way too sweet. So she checked the ingredient list and was shocked to find it contained 4% alcohol. 

“Um, Mom? I bought alcohol by mistake.”

Turns out what she actually bought was a Smirnoff cooler with a raspberry & soda flavour. The Smirnoff label is very prominent but like the average 14-year-old, she didn’t know or recognize the brand name. Everything else about the packaging (see photo) suggests this was a soft drink. 

Initially, we laughed off her error and poured it down the sink. I told her how glad I was that she told me about it. She wasn’t at fault and certainly wasn’t in trouble.

Then I got upset. And the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. But not with her.

First of all, I was upset that the dep employee sold alcohol to a 14-year-old wearing the familiar high school uniform (she even had on a hoodie with the school name). She wasn’t challenged or asked for identification. Moreover, the product wasn’t in a beer and cooler fridge, surrounded by other products obviously containing alcohol; it was in a six-pack on a shelf next to some bananas and snack foods. 

Mostly, however, I was upset about the packaging for this product. It’s easy to see how a teenager unfamiliar with the Smirnoff brand might think it’s a soda. The most obvious marketing messages in this packaging design are about the low calorie nature of the beverage and the raspberry soda flavour. Even if a young person was deliberately seeking alcohol, it makes it seem so benign. And the sugary sweet taste promoted by the beverage suggests it’s designed for young drinkers.

The whole mixup seems particularly onerous in the wake of the death from alcohol poisoning last month of another 14-year-old girl from Laval. Athena Gervais had reportedly been drinking a high sugar alcoholic beverage called FCKD UP purchased from a nearby depanneur. Laval-based Groupe Geloso, which manufactured the drink, announced soon after that it was stopping production and pulling it from shelves. Similar to the American beverage, Four Loko, the drinks are very high in alcohol and caffeine – and both brands appeal to youth.

It seems the problem is bigger than just those one or two particular drinks. Can we address the way packaging and marketing specifically appeals to underage drinkers? How it is deliberately promoted to seem like candy or energy drinks or soda as if it were completely safe for all?

The day after this incident, I went over t0 the depanneur where my daughter bought this drink. Full of mama rage, I confronted the owner. To his credit, he was shocked and horrified and apologized immediately. He recognized that placing these drinks next to snack foods and away from the rest of the alcohol could be confusing to students and pledged to move them right away. And he promised to reinforce to all his employees that the legal age for alcohol consumption in Quebec is 18, and they must demand identification to prove their age. My 14-year-old could easily pass for older, but she was wearing a high school uniform and thus clearly no older than 17. She claims the worker showed zero interest in what she was purchasing. 

I was satisfied with the owner’s response and proud of my daughter for speaking up. But I remain concerned about this kind of misleading advertising. There are many reasons why alcohol consumption can be dangerous for teens, from alcohol poisoning to addiction, heightened risk of assault, drinking and driving, and decreased judgment. This kind of marketing is unethical and it’s our kids who pay the price.

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