Helpful ways to reduce screen time for families

We used to talk about the amount of time children spent watching television, but now the concern has spread beyond the television screen. Screen time now also includes non-school or non-work-related computer and Internet use, video games, and DVD use. Time spent in front of a screen is time when children are not being physically active. It's not just children who need to get away from the screen. A sedentary lifestyle is not healthy for adults either.

Here are some tips from the National Institutes of Health to help you and your family reduce screen time and increase physical activity.

* Know how much screen time and active time your family is getting. By knowing how much screen time your family spends, and how much physical activity they get, you will be more aware of their needs for physical activity to maintain energy balance.

* Talk to your family. Explain that it's important to sit less and move more to stay at a healthy weight. Tell them that as an adult, you are going to limit your screen time and increase physical activity, so your family can be working toward a goal together.

* Set limits on screen time. Set a house rule that your children may spend no more than two hours a day of screen time. More importantly, enforce the rule once it's made.

* Minimize the influence of TV in the home. Do not put a TV or computer in a child's bedroom. This tends to physically isolate family members and decrease interaction. Also, children who have TVs in their room tend to spend almost one and a half hours more in a typical day watching TV than their peers without a set in their room.

* Make meal time, family time. Turn off the TV during family meal time. Better yet, remove the TV from the eating area if you have one there. Family meals are a good time to talk to each other. Research has shown that families who eat together tend to eat more nutritious meals than families who eat separately. Make eating together a priority.

* Provide other options and alternatives. Watching TV can become a habit for a child. Provide other alternatives for them to spend their time, such as playing outside, learning a hobby or sport, or spending time with family and friends.

* Set a good example. Adults need to be good role models and also limit their screen time. If kids see adults following their own rules, then they will be more likely to follow. Instead of watching TV or surfing the Internet, spend time with your family doing something fun and active.

* Don't use TV to reward or punish a child. Practices like this make TV seem even more important to children.

* Be a savvy media consumer. Don't expect your child to ignore the influences of television advertising of snack foods, candy, soda, and fast food. Help your child develop healthy eating habits and become media savvy by teaching them to recognize a sales pitch. Ask your child why their favorite cartoon character is trying to get them to eat a certain brand of breakfast cereal. Explain that this is a way for advertisers to make the cereal more appealing to young people, so they will ask their parents to buy it and the company will make money.

* Make screen time, active time. Stretch, do yoga, or lift hand weights while watching TV. Challenge the family to see who can do the most push-ups, jumping jacks, or leg lifts during commercial breaks, or switch to an exercise tape during commercials.

* A good way to keep track of your family's screen time is to keep a log in an easy location for everyone to use and see. If screen time for your family is less than two hours a day, pat yourselves on the back. If it's two hours or more, find ways to get more physical activity into your lifestyle.

Editor's Note: Ann Ludlum is a K-State Research and Extension family and consumer sciences and 4-H extension agent assigned to Bourbon County. She may be reached at (620) 223-3720 or aludlum@ksu.edu.