106: Screens and Boys



Photo by Paul Inkles via Flickr

How many hours per week do your boys spend in front of a screen?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children ages 6-10 now spend 6 hours per day using screens as entertainment. That figure doesn’t count time spent learning via screens at school, or videochatting with grandma and grandpa.

In this episode, Jen & Janet discuss:

  • Expert recommendations for screen time vs. reality
  • Whether or not screen addiction is a “thing”
  • Signs that your son might be spending too much time with screens
  • How to help boys establish a balance between screentime and other activities
  • The upside of screens
Links we mentioned (or should have!) in Episode 106:

Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids – And How to Break the Trance  — book by Nicholas Kardaras, PhD

Family Media Use Plan – interactive tool from the American Academy of Pediatrics

Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (& Survive) In Their Digital World – book by Devorah Heitner

Is Screen Time Really All That Bad? – blog post by Jennifer L.W. Fink

The Link Between Freedom & Video Games – blog post by Jennifer L.W. Fink

Moral Combat: Why the War of Violent Video Games is Wrong — book by Patrick Markey and Christopher Ferguson