How to Detox Kids From Their Screens

When the pandemic hit last year, the first thing many parents did was abandon any rules they had in place about screen time. It’s not because the pandemic made us lazy parents; it’s because so many of us suddenly needed to work in the same spaces where our children were learning, playing, and arguing with each other.

Their sports, clubs, and after-school activities were canceled and we weren’t yet sure how the virus even spread, let alone how to get our kids together safely with friends for socially distanced, outdoor playdates. So for many of our kids, tablets and smartphones became their lifeline to their friends—one of the few ways they could connect to the outside world that the pandemic hadn’t taken away. We let them log on, and before we knew it, extra screen time became way too much screen time, and bad habits were formed.