Parenting advocate Holly Brooker thinks it's awesome half of Kiwi parents owned up to feeling addicted to their devices in a recent survey.
"When we can acknowledge that, we can put some changes in place to help remedy it," she tells Jesse Mulligan.
Photo: CONCEPTUAL IMAGES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Parenting advocate and presenter Holly Jean Brooker Photo: The Crib Collective
Last year, Brooker (who works in PR and also with Parenting Place and Makes Sense) realised for herself how too much screen time can increase anxiety and depression.
"I got to a point where the kids talking to me felt like too much noise, it was just irritating. I realised there were too many tabs open in my mind and I had to make some changes to restore some calm within myself.
"As a mum, when I spend too much time on a screen… I don't feel good within myself."
Turning off notifications and making her phone "as boring as possible" were part of Brooker's strategy.
Most of us get a lot more than the two hours screen time per day recommended as a healthy maximum amount - and this become normalised, she says.
Related: Teens and screens - the best approach (Afternoons)
Perhaps the first thing to look at if you're one of them is your own behaviour, she says.
As parents, is probably more powerful than what we sway.
"Our kids learn by what we do and what they see us do."
The nib State of the Nation Parenting Survey also showed 75 percent of Kiwi parents are concerned about the content their children access online.
Brooker says the action group Makes Sense helps parents keep their kids safe online by acquainting them with the content their kids might come across, from the "amazing" to the "really harmful, unregulated and illegal".
Related: How to protect children online (Nine to Noon)
On average, New Zealand kids first encounter pornography at the age of 12 and will often hear about sexual proclivities like bestiality at school, she says.
Some children may fear talking to their parents about what they've seen or heard about and Parenting Place can help parents open up these conversations.
"[Parents should be] sitting alongside them, understanding their online world, being part of it. They're probably not going to tell us everything, particularly as they get older. But the more conversations we can have that are nonjudgmental, that are honest and we can share our own experiences … we're trying to figure it out as much as they are.'
Jesse recommends this article by Jon Haidt on social media, mental illness and teen girls.
Related:
TikTok imposes time limit for teens (Morning Report)
Younger audiences slip away from local media (The Detail)
Is 13 too young to be on TikTok and Instagram? (Nights)
How Gen Z communicates (Nights)
Teens and screens - the best approach (Afternoons)
Why TikTok is so addictive for teens (Afternoons)
How to protect children online (Nine to Noon)
When influencers are not a good influence (Afternoons)
Understanding kids born between 2010 and 2024 (Nine to Noon)
How to communicate with a teenage boy (Nine to Noon)
How to protect children online (Nine to Noon)
