Children & Screen Time: What You Need to Know

In this podcast our FLiP in house counsellor Jo Harrison is thinking about “Screen Time Post Lockdown” with child health education expert Dr Aric Sigman, an experienced lecturer who speaks to parents, children and medical students about issues of public health including screen time, body image, drugs and alcohol. Jo works with individuals and couples going through a divorce or separation to help them think through the issues their families face. In this podcast she thinks particularly with Aric about how divorced or separated co-parents can negotiate different ideas about their children’s discretionary use of screens (as opposed to screen time in lockdown that was essential for home learning).

Jo and Dr Sigman cover issues such as:

• Should we be worried about our children’s use of screens during lockdown?
• Has the amount of screen use in lockdown become a default?  Is it possible to change that?
• What are basic ground rules that parents can try and aim for?
• Is it harder for parents to say no or to set boundaries when they’re feeling guilty about a parental break-up?
• What can parents try to agree on to keep their children’s use of the internet safe?
• Why it is so important to treat the issue of how children use their screens as a health and development issue