12 tips for reducing your kids' screen time

The first thing you need to know when you want to “wean” your kids off their devices is that it can take a little patience.

Try to think of it like potty training – it takes time, ups and downs, team work, a sense of humour and lots of encouragement.

And potty training was worth it for a life without nappies, right? Think of a world where your child actually hears you when you say their name, doesn’t act up as much, and plays outside! Amazing.

If you’ve ever lost your phone, you’ll know how strange it feels to suddenly be without it. Your kid will be feeling the same thing when they're going from screen-life to real life.

The key is to distract, distract, distract. You need to swap out their device for something that’s fun. Luckily, what kids love the most is spending time with you. We have loads of ideas for screen-free activities.

One of the best things to do is to lead by example. You’re the main influence in your child’s life, so if you put your phone away they might too.

You might be surprised at how nice it is to spend time together when you’re not both scrolling through your phones all night!  

If your kids are glued to the screen, a good idea to “wean” them off is to do fun things that take them completely away from their devices – like running around at the park or going on a treasure hunt to find everything in your neighbourhood that starts with "R".

If it's raining outside, you can do things like asking if they can write a comic strip about their best day ever.

Sometimes the kids are on the screens because we need to get on with things around the house. A sneaky trick to kill two birds with one stone is to do things like getting them to help you put the dinner on.

If you get a chance during the week, try to have a meal together. It doesn’t have to be a big deal – even a bowl of cereal or a sandwich is enough! Make your meals device-free zones and talk with each other about your days. Here are some questions you can ask if all you can get out of your little one is “fine”!

We have loads of cheap and kid-friendly recipes they’ll love. If you want to know what you can ask your child to do in the kitchen, we’ve got tips here, and more tips on making housework look fun here.

One way to keep them busy and happy when you’re out and about is to swap out the iPad with a “special bag” of fun things they can play with. It might be stickers, paper, pens, small cars, Lego people, or card games for older kids. You can get them to help you choose what goes in it so it includes some of their favourite toys.

If you want something that's ready to go, your ReadWriteCount Activity bag has lots of free things that will keep them happy while you're out and about.

Snuggling up to read a book together at night helps get them into a routine and gives you both some time to unwind.

It’s a good idea to keep devices out of their room at night – it will only keep them awake and make them grumpy the next day.

Put your tech away and have a family games nights. These games don’t cost a thing and the Read Write Count bags are full of free games you can play with the whole family.

The more fun they have without their devices, the less they’ll keep nagging at you for them.

Does your child get grumpy if their screen-time goes on too long? Does their behaviour get better without screen time? Sometimes it can pay to see if you can just cut it out. You could not watch shows during the week, and they can catch-up at the weekend if they want to.