Week 6

U.S. families struggling with teens' phone addiction: report

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/u-families-struggling-teens-phone-addiction-report-153811768.html 

"The majority of parents concurred, with 59 percent of those with children between ages 12 and 18 saying their kids cannot give up their phones, according to a poll of 1,240 parents and children by Common Sense Media."

 This is such a difficult struggle. In our household, you have to play outside or read for an hour before you are allowed to have screen time. We have a contract set up with our kids regarding their cellphone use, however, the school makes it increasingly more difficult in their handing out of iPads. I hate to have the argument of "I have homework to do on my iPad". I find my husband constantly on his phone while he is home. I have started logging off of all of my social media apps. I primarily use my iPad to read.

I have a standing date with my kids to walk or play at the park or ride bikes when I am not in class in the afternoons. Most weekends that it is nice, we are either out hiking, fishing or camping as a family. The only application for the phones then are for pictures. But unlike before, I'm really choosing some meaningful shots and discarding the rest. As a parent and just a phone user myself, I find the invasion of social media overwhelming. My kids need to know how to shut down and find some peace. They aren't going to find that if I don't provide that example either.