Scream time? Our 10 Favourite Screen Time Quotes and Learnings

“Whether you are a parent or not, carving out time to turn off your devices, to disconnect from the wired world and engage with the real people who are all around you, is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and the people you love.”

– Alan Brown

Back in 2015, Habyts hosted a number of globally respected experts in Parenting, Learning and Online Gaming as part of our Screen Time Sanity Telesummit 2015.

Parents tuned in from across the globe to get the practical guidance they sought to better handle daily tech conflicts, set smart screen rules, recapture family life, and much more!

Our experts shared their knowledge and experience across a number of key topics including setting screen time limits, teaching emotional intelligence and experimenting with a 30-day screen detox.

So, we thought we’d take a look back at just what they said.

“Whether you are a parent or not, carving out time to turn off your devices, to disconnect from the wired world and engage with the real people who are all around you, is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and the people you love.”

– Alan Brown, entrepreneur, coach and host of Crusher TV

“My whole focus is in switching the perception of parents from my child is being a problem to my child is having a problem. I think screen time is one of those issues that is symptomatic of things that are going on inside the family.”

– Bonnie Harris, MS Ed, director of Connective Parenting

“We may have to exercise discipline to use the controls we have but we are not slaves to these devices unless we allow ourselves to become so. To me, the trick is to put yourself in charge of your screens instead of allowing your screens to be in charge of you.”

– Dr. Edward Hallowell, MD, child and adult psychiatrist, NY Times best-selling author and leading authority in ADHD

“The earlier we introduce screens the more it affects the child’s brain development and the more likely they will have trouble managing their addiction to screens and technology later in life.”

– Dr. Laura Markham, author and founding editor of ahaparenting.com

“We know that kids who play video games and use technology for an hour a day are actually psychologically healthier than kids who spend 3 or more hours a day with video games and also psychologically healthier than kids who don’t spend any time at all.”

 – Dr. Randy Kulman, founder and president of LearningWorks for Kids

“The key is to teach them how to be safe with technology, because ultimately, we want our children to be in charge of technology, rather than feeling technology is in charge of them.”

– Elaine Halligan, London director of The Parent Practice

“Part of what happens is instead of looking at technology as a tool and a valuable thing, it ends up being a toy that our kids have permission or not to use and that ends up putting us in the position of being the bad guy.”

– Elaine Taylor-Klaus, CPCC, PCC AND Diane Dempster, MHSA, CPC, PCC of ImpactADHD

“I do think that it’s important that if we want our kids to grow up as responsible, independent and happy adults that they realize that technology is a privilege, it’s  not a right.“

– Laurie Dupar,  PMHNP, RN, PCC of Coaching for ADHD

“Taking a month to cleanse yourself from screens as much as you physically and possibly can, not shooting for perfection but just shooting for connection. You might learn something that you didn’t realize about the people who are closest to you.”

– Shanan Winters, Parent, writer, editor and novelist

“It’s not just about limiting screen time; it’s about teaching kids to develop good habits in real life As well as managing their screen time.”

– Cynthia Crossley, Co-Founder of Habyts

So let’s be clear. Screen time impacts both parents and children like.

But as role models for our kids, we must lead by example, while demonstrating this to other parents, friends and family too.

But while screen time struggles might be causing you stress, spare a thought for your kids. A recent

A recent study by the University of Washington and University of Michigan found children have clear screen time expectations of their parents too, namely:

• Autonomy – Allow your kids to make their own decisions about technology use.
• Moderation –  Use technology in moderation and in balance with other activities.
• Supervision –  Protect your kids online by establishing and enforcing technology-related rules.
• No hypocrisy– Lead by example, such as putting down your devices during mealtimes.
• Shareaware – Always talk with your children before sharing content about them online.

So go easy on the little ones.