Family Tips for Digital Wellbeing

Six Easy Ways to Promote Healthy Habits

Jaci Clement
4 min readJul 12, 2024
A popular ‘screen-free zone’ is the dining table.

In today’s media-driven world, managing screen time is crucial for maintaining family harmony and overall well-being. Balancing the allure of digital devices with meaningful offline activities can be challenging, but it’s essential for nurturing healthy habits. Here are some practical tips to help families navigate digital well-being together, fostering environments where screens enhance rather than detract from quality time and mental health.

Set the Example
The most effective method for teaching children that life extends beyond screens is for adults to lead by example. It’s counterproductive to instruct kids to put away their phones while you’re engrossed in your own. Falling into the “do as I say, not as I do” trap undermines the effort to cultivate healthy digital habits. The moment you say it, you’ve lost the battle.

Create Screen-Free Zones in the House
Setting some physical boundaries in the house will help children understand when it is inappropriate to pay attention to a device instead of the people in the room. Popular screen-free zone examples are the dining table and the family room since these are areas where people typically gather. Create your own boundaries, but remember that the rules apply to you, too.

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Jaci Clement
Jaci Clement

Written by Jaci Clement

As CEO & Executive Director of the Fair Media Council, Jaci Clement is considered one of today's most influential media scholars. She welcomes your questions.

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