Digital & Peer Influences
3 Tips for When You’re Trying to Get Your Teen off their Phone
This post was updated in 2022 with information from this American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry article.
Did you know that the average teen spends roughly nine hours a day on their phone? That is more than one-third of a 24-hour day. So, if teens are getting the recommended eight hours of sleep per night, that means they’re spending more than half of their waking day on a device. While this stat likely doesn’t come as much of a surprise, it can be increasingly difficult for parents to navigate the tricky landscape of today’s tech-infused world. What complicates things further is that many parents find it hard to keep off their own phones, so it can seem hypocritical when they are trying to enforce limits for their teens around a behavior they are also partaking in.
But, as the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry notes, too much screen time can have negative implications, so it’s critical to consider how to better manage your own screen time and how to help your teen better manage theirs.
Related Resources
Below are a few tips that can help you set healthy screen time expectations with your teen.
Always explain the “why” behind restrictions.
Admit your own downfalls.
Encourage them to read actual books.
For even more tips, you can read the full American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry article here.
