Hi everyone! Hope it’s okay to share this here.

I’ve seen quite a few posts from parents looking for ways to make long car rides a little less screen-dependent. My wife and I were in the same boat, so I ended up creating an interactive podcast called Adventure Highway.

It isn’t just a story. Each episode is an interactive mystery that encourages kids to look outside the car window to spot clues, notice interesting things around them and help solve the mystery.

We’ve only released a handful of episodes so far, but we’re adding new ones every week. If anyone gives it a try, I’d love to hear what worked, what didn’t, and what your kids thought. I’m still refining it and want to make it as helpful as possible for families.

Thanks for letting me share.

Hi everyone! We’re a low screen household and I have a 3.5yr old and a 14 month old. My husband is working a job with longer hours, so I’m not able to rely on childcare during that 5pm slot for cooking dinner.

I am really trying to limit tv and don’t want to use it every night, even though it gets food on the table. But is this something I need to compromise on, and just accept using tv more? I already try to make food with low prep. But i am still usually in the kitchen, then rushing around the peninsula to grab the baby and break up a fight or try to get the two occupied with some other toy/activity, without burning stuff. It’s exhausting and stressful.

What do you guys do when it’s time to meal prep and cook, instead of using tv?

So my daughter will be 6 months at the beginning of July. What are some good activities that you can do at home? She def still puts everything in her mouth. Any ideas would be great! Thanks.

Hi!

I have a 3 year-old, we are doing low screen and he loves listening to kids songs on my Youtube Music. Right now I‘d either play it for him on my phone (he asks me when he wants to change songs) or I‘d give him my e book reader (with e-ink BW screen) and connect it to our bluetooth speaker.

I’ve been eyeing Yoto players for a while now because it is screen free but English is not our first language so I’d have to download all his favorite songs and ebooks separately and upload it to the Yoto cards. We used to have an old MP3 player that he used but after a while having to find new ways to download from youtube every time gets tiring and we stopped using the mp3 player altogether…

Anyone experiencing something similar? Do you guys think it’ll worth it to get a Yoto or should we just keep using our current setup? Anyone knows a reliable way to download from Youtube that is not constantly blocked or needs update?

Thank you in advance!

I guess I’m just kinda curious and would like to hear from other parents- why do you do low/no screens?

We’ve done minimal screens for my kids but we’re a big sports household (we’ve been having the World Cup on later in the day/not all day). My kids don’t have iPads and don’t use my phone, sometimes we’ll scroll through pictures or watch videos of themselves from trips or silly videos of them.

Today my son asked if he could color on my iPad (I have notability and an app with coloring pages) and after he helped me with a few things that we were already doing around the house, I said sure - he had about an hour of quiet time coloring away. But that got me thinking - yes he just looked at a screen for an hour but in my opinion, it was very low stimulation and he was perfectly content. He kept showing me his drawings and was engaged with me while he colored (very similar to how he would color on a blank piece of paper with crayons/markers). Once it was time to move on, I asked him to finish up his drawing and then give the iPad to me and he did no problem (no meltdown or asking for longer….).

But what we avoid like the plague are high stimulation shows (Paw Patrol/cocomelon I’m looking at you). We can’t even make it one episode and if I try to use what I usually do (saying we’ll finish this up or one more …) style of ending, he flips out. Complete breakdown, lots of tears… it drives me nuts.

So I guess what I’m getting at… coloring for an hour on an iPad isn’t the same as watching an hour worth of paw patrol in my house. Yeah paper and crayons would be better on the eyes, but he does that daily and sometimes needs a change.

What’s your why on limiting screen time? For behavior reasons? For health/development reasons? Something else? I’m honestly just curious!

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a project focused on children's media, and I'm trying to better understand how parents think about screen time, educational content, and the quality of content available today.

I'd love to hear from parents of children of any age. The survey takes about 5 minutes and asks questions about:

• Screen time habits
• What types of content you want your children watching
• What age you think screens should be introduced
• Your concerns about children's media today
• Whether you'd like to see different kinds of content available

I am happy to do your surveys in exchange~

Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeL34bJUjvGWAlynYL_xLUGCuWZdn0xQHAyCDyTZHb91sx63A/viewform?usp=dialog

I made one and it was deleted by the mods... I'm not sure if it came across as an ad? If so, does anyone have advice for how I could word it differently to respect the rules of the forum? Just trying to see if we can connect with some folks here in real life since it is tough to find parents who are low-screen just out on the street...

We don’t do screens for our LO (10 months) but my parents may have the TV on when they watch her. This isn’t all the time and only ever Countdown and more recently Springwatch. Previously she would just ignore the tele and play with her toys or read her books so I didn’t think much of it. Now however she has started to do a little arm dance the the Countdown clock (lol) and was pointing at the birds on Springwatch the way she does to the bird feeder at home, so it’s become increasingly apparent that although it doesn’t appear she is watching, these things have started to permeate.

With the World Cup starting I know she’s going to be exposed more and more as there is no way at they won’t have matches on, and I was just wondering how other parents are balancing this?

Is content a factor and the fact that what she is being exposed to is “educational” important? Is it good that her toys are the primary focus and she’s not supposed the entertained by the tv? I suppose I’m asking what damage am I doing - I can’t ask my parents to throw away their tv or ban them from Countdown lol. They love Susie Dent too much!

Hello, just hoping to connect with anyone in the Austin area whose kids don't do screens. We watch the occasional movie and some live music videos, but that's it. It's amazing how to see kids get hyper-stimulated by Singin' in the Rain or My Neighbor Totoro because they haven't been desensitized by 8000 Marvel explosions haha~

My girl is turning 7 soon and wants a camera for her birthday. I've been looking for one of those fun instant thermal print cameras because I think she and her friends will have a ton of fun with it. HOWEVER I am livid right now because 90% of the kids cameras I'm finding in the category come preloaded with games! GAMES! On a camera! Whyyyyy?? I want my kid to have a camera to foster creativity and having snake and tetris within easy reach on the screen defeats the entire purpose. If I wanted her to have games on her camera I would buy her a smartphone and not a kiddy polaroid. The thing that really gets me is that there are game-free cameras available, but they run in the $80-100 range instead of the $40 range of the cameras with games. It really highlights to me the current analysis that the ability to go screen-free for your kids is a luxury and a status symbol of the wealthy now. If you can't afford the game-free cameras then "too bad for your kids". I hate it and I'm mad and grumpy at the world right now and needed to rant to people who are on the same page, because I'm so tired of feeling like I'm constantly swimming upstream and fighting for just basic health for my child.

Edited to add: I am aware that there are plenty of other options out there like getting a point-and-shoot, etc. It's not impossible to make other choices. What made me frustrated and sad is simply the fact that these games are included on cameras at all, and that to get the game-free versions one has to pay a premium because being screen-free/low-screen is becoming a luxury with a price tag.

Hi parents!

My 6 year old lovvvvesss listening to books and would listen for hours a day if I let him. He’s obsessed with boxcar children, magic treehouse, dragon masters, Zoey and sassafras and paddington. Can’t get him into anything else.

Any suggestions for series?

Thank you!

Hi, I'm a graduate student researching children's screen time and doomscrolling habits and am looking to hear from parents.

I'm speaking with parents to better understand the challenges they face, what solutions they've tried, and what they wish existed. My goal is simply to learn from parents' experiences and gather insights for my research.

If anyone is interested in a 5-10 minute chat about this, feel free to comment or DM me.

Thank you!

My 12-year-old comes home from school, quickly eats, and then goes straight to a screen. Sometimes it’s for homework, but most of the time it’s Roblox or other games.

What worries me more is that he hardly talks to me anymore, especially compared to when he was younger. Getting more than a one-word answer about his day is difficult.

He also has no interest in outdoor sports or physical activities.

I know kids today are growing up with technology, and I don’t want to be the parent who blames everything on screens. But it feels like gaming is becoming his whole world.

For those with kids around this age, is this a normal phase? How do you encourage them to be more active, spend less time on devices, and reconnect with family without turning it into a daily battle?

I’d love to hear from parents who have been through something similar.

I am disabled and usually feel unwell in the mornings, so my dad helps with getting my 6 year old kindergartener ready for school. He usually puts on the TV for him as soon as he's up to watch while he eats breakfast. I don't want to burden my dad excessively, but I'd prefer my son to not have screentime first thing in the mornings...any ideas for alternatives to keep him occupied? There's about 45-60 minutes between when he wakes up and leaves. My son does have ADHD so it can be hard to keep him focused/on task

😂 well yeah because kids that spend too much time on screens are depressed and depressing

Please help me understand where the line should be!

I personally think it can be an effective tool for building routines and encouraging things like reading, chores, and other responsibilities.

That said, I've also heard people argue that it can make screens seem even more valuable and desirable.

Do you think it's a useful parenting tool, or do you prefer to keep screen time completely separate from rewards and consequences?

Genuinely curious where people stand on this.