Time Hints

When and how long can your child play and watch?

• Set limits together. Only you can decide what screen time limits are right for your family. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours a day — meaning TV, computers, handhelds and video game consoles combined. You'll want to consider a number of factors — the age of your kids, their needs during the school year and the amount of physical activity you want for them.
• Track it. Get your children to log their screen time so that you can keep track of how much time their spending playing games, surfing the Web and watching TV. You may want to encourage them (or even reward them) when their screen time hours balance out with outdoor activities, school work and family time. For help tracking time, download this screen time tracker or create your own.
• Monitor it. It's important that you not only set limits on screen time, but that you enforce the rules once they're made. There are many ways to be sure that your kids are abiding by your screen time rules. You can use the kitchen timer or set an alarm clock. (Xbox 360 has a Family Timer feature built into it. Learn how to set yours up.)