The time we used to spend outdoors, in cars, shopping malls, or just hanging out with friends, we now spend indoors watching TV or using smartphones much of the time. Adults have a hard enough time as it is to limit their screen time, so what about the children?

Such a routine is not ideal for young eyes. Their screen use has increased drastically. Online sessions have replaced classrooms, and the time they used playing in the grounds is now spent watching online videos, playing games, or Face-timing with friends.

Although it is understandable that parents currently have their hands full with remote working, homeschooling, and running the household, they are sometimes guilty of using digital devices as a babysitter. And although parents need a break too, they must establish limits regarding acceptable limits regarding screen time.

Reducing your child’s screen time can significantly lessen digital eye strain symptoms that include blurry vision, tired eyes, and headaches. Here are some ways you can take control and reduce screen time during times at home.

1. Reduce your Screen time first

Yes, it has to start with you. Kids look up to parents, and if you don’t reduce your screen time, you cannot make your children do so. There are some software and apps that you can install on your phone, and monitor how much time you spend on your phone and other digital activities. Some phones come with inbuilt features and monitor the overall usage and time you spend on individual apps.

If you spend two hours on an app every day, reduce it to one hour and then gradually, into half an hour. Once you do that, you would be surprised to see how much time you have for other activities. But it’s not about your screen time in the first place; you are doing this for your children.

Enjoy screen-free meals

The idea should be to enjoy meals. It has become a norm to eat meals in front of a TV or using cellphones that results in distracted eating. You are more focused on what is happening on the screen than what we are putting in our mouth.

Mealtimes are great for social interaction. And these days have provided both parents and children to spend more quality time with each other. So, tell your children that no phones will be allowed on the table during meals. Make them leave their phones in another room away from the table.

Call your friends and family

Traditional phone calls have become a thing of the past now. If you notice, you would prefer to send a text message or a voice mail than answering a call. But phone calls are important. And psychologically beneficial too. Direct voice communication can even save relationships, which has become crucial when families and friends are living in isolation.

Call up a friend or family member. Make your children call their friends or grandparents. And then assess how you feel after hanging up the phone. Phone calls are a great way to connect when you cannot be together physically. Video calls are great as well. At least your child won’t be tapping away on the screen, texting or scrolling down Facebook.

Read at least one chapter every day

Why one chapter? Well, if you haven’t read books in a while, you cannot finish an entire book in a day. If not one, go for at least two. Reading is one of the best hobbies, and you should urge your children to read more. Also, if the book is unable to capture their interest or attention, they can always pick up another one.

Ebooks and audiobook rentals are available at local libraries easily. Indulge in reading with your children. You can do various activities. Choose books to read for the week, and then ask your children what they learned from it. Also, you can take turns reading as a family.

Take a break from digital devices

The key is to gradually reduce screen time and cut it down as much as you can. But as said earlier, doing it in quarantine gets a bit difficult. You can start with short breaks and encourage your children to give their eyes and their devices some rest. Make a timetable for your children that they have to take a short break every hour. You can go outside in the backyard or garden. Do some chore, solve a puzzle or anything that does not involve screens.

With short breaks, the focus gets better. And eventually, you would find these habits becoming addictive. When you step away from the screens for 10 minutes, it will slowly increase to 20 minutes. You would find yourself doing other things and getting accustomed to it. Now, this might be easier with young children but not with teens. Excessive screen use not only harms the eyes but spending too much time on social media has negative impacts on psychological health. Social media is addictive, and if you think that your teen is not going to break free anytime soon, you need to take some strict measures. Get the Xnspy monitoring app designed for parents to keep a check on your teen’s digital activities.

The app monitors text messages, call logs, emails, locations, web browsing history, and a lot more. There are numerous remote functionalities too. If you think your teens are not following rules and using screens when they are supposed to be taking a break or doing something else, you can learn how to remotely shut or lock the device.

Indulge in a new hobby

Everyone person wants to learn something or know something they have been interested in for a long time. Now maybe the best time to experience or learn new things. Help your child finding a new hobby. It can be growing a veggie garden, a DIY project at home, beginner cooking skills, organizing, or anything else. Children are using tablets and phones excessively due to the monotonous routine during the quarantine. When there is something new to do, they are going to distance themselves from the screens on their own.

And even if you use screens to learn a new craft like YouTube. See that you watch the tutorial and then get to work.

The occasional laziness is okay

While all of the above tips work and bring results, you cannot spend the entire quarantine self-improving. Leave some room for relaxation. And it is alright if your child spends an hour more on-screen once a week. Do not feel guilty about it.

We all have a lot of time on our hands that we can use to reflect upon ourselves or relax. Enjoy nature and your surroundings. Plan a lunch or breakfast in the backyard/garden. Ask your children to come up with ideas for décor. And also the menu. You have to make use of what you have and feel blessed.

Mindfulness and meditation do not require physical activity but can boost your mental health and give you a new perspective. There are many ways you can practice these things with children and make them feel more attuned to their surroundings away from the digital world.

Try out these, and gradually, you will see great results!

We share our details whenever using the internet without knowing it: websites track our geolocation, credit card or phone numbers, search, and purchase histories. Imagine what would happen if frauds will get such data! We will tell you why you must disable third party cookies or install reliable antivirus.

Most of all social connections take place on the Internet. We chat with friends, publish photos, or look for new sneakers. So if it matters for you that your correspondence and private files don’t leak into the public domain, then you should think about privacy issues.

What’s so special about Internet privacy?

Privacy on the Internet reflects in which way the site or company gathers and stores our data, and how they transfer or sell it. Based on received data, they form a broad customer base, that includes details such as telephone number, home address, or even clothing preferences.

Why we should care about such things as privacy on the Internet? Data leakages may result in stealing money from our credit card, appearing of annoying ads that are based on our purchase history, and receiving tons of spam emails.

Here’s some advice on how you may protect your privacy. They’re really simple, so both children and adults will manage to use them.

You can secure your details by such means:

1. Disable tracking cookies

If you want to prevent websites from monitoring your activity, you need to block third party cookies. It will help you deal with annoying ads, formed by your search history, and prevent your confidential data leakages. Here’s a guide that explains how easily block cookies in any browser.

2. Use a VPN

Another way to protect your info is to download and turn on the VPN. The major benefit of this method is that your data remains encrypted. Even your ISP won’t be able to find out which pages you’ve visited. VPN allows you to visit blocked sites and bypass filters on work or school computers. We suggest taking a look on top free VPNs.

3. Don’t share your private details with suspicious websites

 If you find yourself on a suspicious site that asks you to enter private data, credit card numbers, or other intimate details, be extremely careful! These websites preserve data, create huge databases, and sell them to advertising companies. Therefore, we recommend you think twice whether a coupon for a free burger or participation in suspicious sweepstakes is worth intimate information leakage.

4. Turn on the private browsing mode

If you turn on the private browsing mode, you prohibit websites to gather and preserve your actions and data. On the contrary, this method won’t give full protection. ISP, smart tracking, and websites will still see your private data. This guide explains how to turn on private browsing mode.

 5. Set up a verified antivirus

Antivirus is a great helpmate when we talk about data security. Top antiviruses suggest such services as web protection, antispam, online payment’s security, and parental control. Scammers can steal people’s intimate files to extort money in exchange for deleting stolen data. However, if you have installed antivirus, no one will get your sensitive files, correspondence, and photos. Here you can find a list of the top reliable antivirus programs.

If you are concerned about the security of your private details, you can avoid scammers, stealing money from credit cards, or annoying spam. With our tips, you will easily maintain confidentiality at the right level. Just remember to be extremely cautious during an Internet session, and your data will be safe.  

Your mind is amongst the most powerful resources you have, and there’s nothing like a jack of all trades. Dabbling into a little bit of this, and a little bit of that can even shape you into a more flexible person. Knowing this, it’s important for children to be taught lifelong learning skills in preparation for their future. This way, they can learn to do anything – fast.

Furthermore, lifelong learning can help your child develop a positive outlook on life – helping them build confidence and make amazing self-improvements. In times of unanticipated change, such as a job loss or technological advances, the cards will always be in the favor of a lifelong learner.

This is not to be underestimated: 88% of Americans have pursued learning about an interest to make their life fuller. Even more, our brains love it! Everytime we learn something new, our brain chemistry changes – stimulating our neurons to create new connections. The more comfortably we know something, the easier it is for our brain to do the task. By introducing lifelong learning to your child, you can prepare them for a bright future.

On the other hand, it’s also important to teach your child the benefits of failure. For example, ask them to try completing a difficult task without any assistance or instruction. According to Singapore’s National Institute of Education, people who try to solve math problems alone don’t come up with the right answer. However, the process generates ideas about the nature of potential solutions. This leads to a better ability to solve similar problems in the future.

With that being said, here’s how your child – and you – can learn any skill fast. Set a goal, then break it down. After this, use the D.I.S.S. Method. The “D” is for ‘Deconstruction,’ i.e., “How can I break down what I need to know?” The “I” is for ‘Selection,’ i.e., “Which steps should I focus on first in order to get the ideal outcome?” The first “S” is for ‘Sequencing,’ i.e., “In what order will it be easiest to learn these steps?” The last “S” is for ‘Stakes,’ i.e., “What are the consequences if I am not able to complete my task?” Finally, practice this method while visualizing success.

87% of learners feel their new skills make them more well-rounded and capable. Perhaps this is why 73% of American adults consider themselves to be lifelong learners. Teaching your child lifelong learning skills in their early years will set them up for an easier future. For a far more specific breakdown on lifelong learning, read more below.

Source: Fast Online Masters

It may not feel like it right now, but there is so much fun waiting for you just around the corner.  There are so many things a kid can do when he or she is bored.  You just need a few ideas.  Creativity often works that way. Often, you first need to get the creative juices flowing and soon you’ll be coming up with ideas of your own.

Here are a few brainstorming ideas we came up.  Start by thinking about them.  Then perhaps share them with your friends and see what they thing.

Pick out a couple and ask your parents if you need help to get the fun rolling.   As mentioned, this list may help you think about fun ideas of your own.

Create a Treasure Hunt!

You can go online and read about the different ways that you can arrange the hunt. The best way to get all your friends together and ask a parent to hide the treasure. It could be a batch of cookies or a gift certificate for a pizza or each child could bring one small toy to make up the treasure. Or you could be the treasure master, stashing the prize and making up clues that you hide in advance.

Clues could be something like “Look for the tree with the home-made swing,” or “Find the big grey rock and take three steps south.” Each clue leads to another clue and at the very end, the treasure. Maybe each of your friends could pick a day and hold their own treasure hunt. The hunts can be as long or as short as you want.  This is something you could also do as a family together, outside or in the house.

Have a Box Sculpture Contest!

This is easy.  Just ask your parents to get empty boxes from a grocery or chain store. Make sure you have a lot of them in a lot of different sizes. Then you need strong tape, glue and markers to decorate what you make. You could even decide on a theme, like box spaceships, box forts or box cars.  You can also get creative and spruce up your sculptures with items egg cartons, ribbons and show boxes.

Make Colorful Wall Montage

When was the last time you colored with crayons?  I doubt your parents won’t let you color on your wall, but there are tons of free coloring pages online you can print and color.  Choose from all sorts of drawings and cover one of your bedroom walls with your own colorful creations. It will be like a wall mural but made up of individual pictures.  There are hundred’s of options online of things to color.

Learn How to Fly a Kite!

Kites are relatively cheap to buy, but many kids prefer to learn about kites online and make their own. This activity requires you to follow the weather and look for good places to catch the wind, usually a park or a hill. This takes those reflexes that help you play video games and uses them in the real world. And it’s fun.

Explore Your Local World!

Get a guide book or go online to find out what you can do in your home town! What is the oldest building in your city? Where was the first school built? Was anyone famous born in your town? Is there a museum you can tour? What about a pond where you can sail a boat? Or simply go to your local park and lay in the grass with a friend looking for images in the clouds.

Put on a Kids Clothing Swap!

Ask your parents what they think about this. It would be a good way to clean out closets as well as encourage everyone to recycle. Just make sure that all clothes are clean and mended when they are brought to the swap.

No matter where you live, you can enjoy a whole world of adventure. All you need to do is use your imagination.