9 Habits to "Healthify" Your Kids' Screen Time

2018-10-24T07:00:00Z

Wellness.com - 9 Habits to "Healthify" Your Kids' Screen Time by Tam John

Your hunch that the modern invention of all that screen time your kids are soaking up is detracting from their whole being development is genuine. According to - Medline Plus - , screen time is a term used for activities done in front of a screen, such as watching TV, working on a computer, or playing video games. Three hours of daily TV viewing is common for kids. Total screen time soaring to five and even seven hours daily is not untypical. Reasons for limiting screen time are plentiful. Kids living with excessive screen time are more likely to be obese and have poor physical conditioning since screen time uses little physical energy. Insomnia and mood and attention issues are common results of too much screen time. Rather than talk to each other when side by side or even on the phone like we did a generation or two ago, kids tap out messages as the means of relating to each other. According to a- UCLA psychology study-, children’s social skills may be declining as they have less time for face-to-face interaction due to their increased use of digital media. The study cites children do substantially better at recognizing human emotions when they have limited screen time. Too much screen time could be akin to creating an addiction. A kid not hearing parents isn’t new to the "screen time generation" but it seems the absence of mind creates a trance-like devotion to the screen in front of their face. 9 habits to improve your kids' screen time for their health: - Don’t use the TV as a backdrop - when it isn’t being watched. Instead put on pleasant music if sound is preferred over quiet. Many kids who study with classical music perform well. Require as much physical activity as screen time. Play out of doors with your kids. Kick a ball around the yard or park, play catch, go on a nature walk, ride bicycles together, take dance classes, swimming lessons, school sports, music lessons, etc. Have family night without TV every week. Play board games, do puzzles, crafts and cook meals. Choose movies to watch as a family and talk about the movies afterwards (what was the story, what did they like, dislike, favorite characters, etc). Make age appropriate chores part of daily life. They should make their own bed, take out the trash, help in the kitchen, care for a pet, put their things away and keep their bedroom floor picked up and so on. Screen time is a privilege to be primarily used for study and learning. Sit down beside your kids and guide them to credible research based sites. Enjoy the wonder of amazing resources to discover the world like -National Geographic Kids- and the like. Protect them. Talk with your kids about the importance to not believe everything online. Block inappropriate sites. There are apps that will do this for you. Require you have access to all devices (passwords) at all times. Look at their browsing history. No devices two hours before bed. This will help their brains wind down before bed and promote falling asleep and staying asleep for a -good night’s rest. Collect devices so there aren’t any cheats. No devices at the meal time table. Meal time- is the perfect time for the family to come together. Especially if it is just you and a kiddo, meal time is perfect bonding time. Physiologically slowing down to notice, enjoy, and taste food promotes good digestion and absorption of nutrients. Set up a fun reading challenge. Offer activity rewards such as outings, adventures, or day trips. Read to them before they read. Read with them when they are older. It isn’t always easy to protect your babes from danger that doesn’t appear to be imminent. It takes the determination of any Mama protecting her baby to keep them out of harm. As much as kids will resist, they need their parents to be the super heroes in their lives. With your leadership (monkey see, monkey do), consistency and engaging them in interesting pursuits, your kiddos can reap the reward of optimal screen time and wholesome diversity in body and mind. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2018 EatRight-LiveWell ™& Tam John - To learn more about Tam John and her work with personalized holistic wellness, visit -www.tamjohn.com.

Streamlined Wellness: Stop The Excuses

2018-06-01T07:00:00Z

Wellness.com - Streamlined Wellness: Stop The Excuses by Tam John

"Yeah But-ing" is the practice of falsely negotiating with yourself about how you are feeling… believing that ill feelings are normal. Perhaps part modern invention and part human nature, you make it harder than need be to feel good. One might think genetics are a life sentence or just because everybody else has it [Yeah But] (digestive troubles, stress, insomnia, or something else) you accept it for yourself. 3 tips to treat yourself to wellness: - Let go of what isn’t serving you. Whether it is an unproductive habit like getting cheap chemically laden pizza on Friday night or wolfing down your food standing up, or something else, stop hurting yourself. As with these examples: Even though it is Friday night, there are many easy, healthful and satisfying choices. Sitting down and chewing your food is a priority. Let food fuel you. You won’t need unreal snack food when you choose food, drink and lifestyle that nourish you. Lose expensive and sugary coffee or energy drinks, and supplements that you really don’t know if they benefit you or their quality isn’t assured. You deserve to treat yourself with -food that serves your wellness- and satisfies you for real. Lose perfect. Everybody is perfect as they truly are. Find your beautiful truth by slowing to your own breath for 10 minutes each day. Pay attention to how your body feels with your choices of food and drink. Heed the messages your body is giving you. Its intelligence will guide you to your beautiful truth. Wellness is about what you let go of rather than taking on more. Streamline your inputs of food, drink, lifestyle and stress management. Check in with yourself at a soul level. Your heart knows the way. You deserve to feel vibrant and at peace with your wellness plan. You are designed for wellness. To learn more about Tam John and her work with personalized holistic wellness, visit -www.tamjohn.com.

Wellness Posts by Tam John

9 Habits to "Healthify" Your Kids' Screen Time

Streamlined Wellness: Stop The Excuses