Strategies for kids’ screen time safety

YORK, Pa. — A new survey from Ipsos on behalf of the Kids Mental Health Foundations shows that privacy and safety top the list of parental concerns about kids’ screen time. So how can you manage your child’s screen time exposure?

The top three fears parents have around their child and screen time are: privacy and safety concerns (47% of parents), exposure to misinformation (36%) and not socializing in person (34%). Fewer parents ranked concerns around body image and schoolwork on their lists.

“My biggest concerns with screens are making sure that my kids don’t get exposed to things before I’m ready for them to and making sure that people aren’t trying to contact them,” said Xia Chekwa, a mom of three kids from Columbus, Ohio. “They’re aware that not everywhere is a safe place, not everything is a safe thing to watch.”

According to the Kids Mental Health Foundation, eight in 10 parents say they actively do something to manage the screen time of kids.

Setting screen time boundaries say that setting limits works best for 58% of parents, followed by encouraging offline hobbies and using parental control apps.

“When it comes to screen time, we can’t expect kids to set their own limits and boundaries,” said Ariana Hoet, PhD, executive clinical director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation and a pediatric psychologist at Nationwide Children’s.

“As parents, we have to pay attention to how much they are using technology – what they are consuming on it, what they are doing with it and who they are interacting with through various platforms of games or social media,” Hoet continued.

The Kids Mental Health Foundation does offer free, evidence-informed resources to help parents understand how to set healthy screen time boundaries and understand how phones, tablets, computers and more impact the mental health of kids.

For more information, visit their resources page or website.