Emily Chan
These days, toddlers and young children spend most of their time watching videos on tablets or swiping around on their parents’ phones.
It has become a regular occurrence, but some parents are not having it. This mom enforced a rule of delaying screen time for her toddler until he turns two years old, and she’s showing you how she does it.
TikToker Lauren Meija (@motherhoodandmontessori) is sharing five methods she used with her child to avoid spending too much time on screens.
One thing she does is involve him in household chores. In the video, her toddler can be seen in the kitchen helping her pour sauce into a dish with pasta.
Aside from reducing the time spent on screens, getting your kid to participate in household tasks has many other benefits.
For instance, it teaches them life skills like cooking and cleaning. In general, they will grow up being more responsible and better equipped to handle adversity.
Another approach she took was joining the 1000 hours outside challenge. Here, the video transitioned to a clip of her son kicking a soccer ball outside.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids spend 114 full days per year staring at screens for fun. So the challenge is geared toward providing kids with a more productive and healthy alternative to occupying themselves with technology.
Next, Lauren also supplies her son with toys and lets him engage in sensory play. Sensory activities help your child develop language and motor skills as well as foster curiosity and creativity.
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