Want less screen-obsessed kids? Set better tech boundaries for yourself
Olga Aleksandrova for NPR
Life Kit How parents can be screentime role models How parents can be screentime role models Listen · 24:59 24:59
Want your child to spend less time on their phone, tablet or gaming device? Start by downsizing your own digital consumption. According to a study published in 2024 , one of the strongest predictors of a child's screen time is a parent's screen time.
"If you don't want your teens to be looking at their phones at the dinner table, you should not be taking out your phone at the dinner table either," says psychologist Jean Twenge , author of the book 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World , published in September.
It can be a challenge for parents to limit their own screen time when so much of the work it takes to manage the household — like ordering groceries or booking doctor's appointments — happens online, says Elizabeth Milovid
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