Keep your Digital Wellbeing in Check

What is Digital Wellbeing?

Digital wellbeing considers the impact of technologies and digital services on people's mental, physical and emotional health.

This means understanding and identifying the positive and negative impacts of engaging with digital activities and being aware of ways to manage and control these to improve our child’s wellbeing. Here are a few tips to do that!

How can we do this as a family?

#1 Talk to your kiddos about their screen time.Let your child know that being on the internet for too long can affect their sleep, eyesight, but also their social skills. There are many studies thatshow sleep problems stemming from electronic devices that emit blue light. Blue rays enter a child’s eyes and increase their risk of developing eye problems like computer vision syndrome.

#2 Create healthy habits. Consider setting specific times and days for using technology and being online. You could also try having them take breaks every 45 minutes when online. Try updating the settings on your phone.Did you know many of the latest cell phones have digital wellbeing built right into the phone settings? These phone features allow you to monitor time spent on apps and give you the ability to set limits as well. There are also iPhone apps like Streak that help you to bust bad habits and form better ones.

#3 Stay positive. Work on balance. Try to remain consistently positive about the multitude of knowledge your child is gaining by spending time online. Give everyone in the family enough space to keep a balance between being online and offline throughout the day. We don't want them to over-consume, especially when many of them are in front of the screen all day for school. This month let's prioritize balancing the right amount of tech time by taking digital breaks when we need to.

#4 Stick to a bedtime readiness routine Bedtime routines may include reading a book, showering, finishing homework, and then going to bed. Consider putting the phones and tablets away, shutting the internet off, and really buckling down as a part of this routine as well. Once the lights are off and the alarm set, it is time to 100% be unplugged.

Which of these tips will you do this month? Check out our Family Hotspot and leave your comment below.