If your family started this weekend doing the #cyberbreak, how did it go? Here are some things you might want to think about before you go back into the week:
1. Did you feel more free? If so, congratulations. That was how you should feel. Take this opportunity to explore setting more boundaries in your home to give yourself more freedom.
2. Did you feel anxious and/or unable to get through 24 hours?
3. Did you start to worry how much screen time there was in your house?
Here are 6 healthy boundaries to consider for your home:
1. No phones/screens in the bedrooms or in bed. There are many reasons for this, including cybersafety for children/teens and good sleep habits for all ages. Ideally, turn them off 30-60 minutes before bed.
2. Consider a Wifi/power-ff curfew to turn off all devices at night so notifications are disturbing sleep.
3. Consider setting a firmer work-home boundary, including separate phone for work and turn off push notifications for certain apps/work email.
4. What (mostly ancient and archaic type) device might do well to re-enter your life to reduce the amount of times that you reach for your phone daily? Think about smart speakers (for music, weather), watch for time, an actual alarm clock for the bedroom, a kitchen clock/timer….
5. Make a rule of no screens at meal time or when eating (talking to people is healthy; eating unaware of our food is not healthy)
6. If you have young children (under 6), don’t let screens get in the way of real world development (eye sight, fine motor, emotional regulation, etc): limit screen time to 60 minutes a day and avoid using to stop tantrums or to regulate emotions.
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