Managing Your Child's (Or Your Own) Screen Time

Many parents today are concerned about the amount of electronic games their kids play or time they spend on social media, and rightly so. The brain doesn’t differentiate between the activities of pornography, shopping, gambling, compulsive eating, excessive social media or video gaming. They all create dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter that our brains like! In excess however, we can become addicted to dopamine and increasingly need more of it. Parents are also concerned about the obesity rate of kids in our country (18%) and the projection that this is the first generation of kids with a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

Children need to be off the screens and up and moving. But, no need to go over board and throw out all the electronics!Here is a great article from the Mayo Clinic titled:

Unplug: 12 tips to manage kids' screen time to help you get started.