Whether your kids are stuck at home for a few weeks or just for a few rainy days, technology is always going to be something they’ll reach for to entertain themselves. That's not necessarily a bad thing, however there should always be a balance of technology, especially for kids.

Today, the majority of American children spend five to eight hours a day in front of a screen and less than one hour outside, and the average child’s sleep quality, attention span, and stress levels could be negatively affected because of it.

It is important to monitor the amount of time your child spends on a technology device. These devices include: tablets, laptops, iPads, cell phones, Nintendo and other gaming devices.

Promoting your child’s involvement in outside activities has proven to improve general mood, attention, and memory. It also tends to reduce behaviors like being easily distracted, lack of focus, or struggling with over-stimulation between school, homework, and online games.

Playing outside allows your child to release energy in a healthy way, raise levels of serotonin production which is our body’s natural anti-depressant, and routinely soak in some Vitamin D.

"I'd like us to start charging our phones together when we get home."

"Where do you think a good spot is for all of our devices to charge?"

"Do you want them to charge ______ or _______?"

"How much time do you need on your (device) right now?"

"Yes you can have your (device). After you finish ______, ________, and _______ then you can have it."

"Would you rather spend (_____ minutes on device) now, or would you like to have that time after (activity)?"

"Would you help me come up with a good plan for all our devices? How much time do you think we should give ourselves after (activity)?"

"Let's come up with an agreement. Tell me about your schedule when you come home, and let's try to fit in certain amounts of time to use your (device) that will best meet your needs for school and to talk to your friends."

In order to re-engage your child you can ask them what is going to motivate them, followed by asking them where they would like to start.

Sometimes a child might be willing to do the first half of their assignment now, and the rest of it later. They might be willing to write the introduction to their paper, and plan out the body of their essay, and then finish it at another time during the day or week.

When you know where they want to start, then you can continue the conversation with what is going to motivate them. It could be that your child is willing to do all of the odd numbers of their math activity followed by 15 minutes of iPad time. Then they might be willing to go back and do the even numbers followed by 15 minutes of soccer outside.

You can use phrases like:

"Let's look at your assignment together. Where would you like to start?"

"What do you need after you do _____?"

"How much time do you think you need in order to ______?"

"How much time do you need for your break after you ______?"

PRO TIP: When you come up with an agreement together of how much time your child needs/wants to spend doing something that they want to do (iPad, cell phone, play with friends, go outside, etc.) they are more likely to stay calm, flexible, and complete their tasks.