Searching for a summer camp program? A high-quality summer camp provides fun, hands-on activities that aren’t reliant upon technology. Technology may be used to enhance the activities, but screen time is used sparingly. To limit how much screen time your child has this coming summer, follow the steps below to create a reward system at home.
- Select readily available tokens that your child cannot easily access, such as stickers or playing cards.
- Think of some helpful tasks that your child can do around the house. Tell her that she can earn a reward for each task she completes without being told to do it. Examples include cleaning up after herself, bringing in the mail, feeding the pets and setting the table. Explain the concept of exchanging the token for a prize or privilege. This system will also help your child learn and understand the concept of spending money to purchase a product.
- Explain to your child that each time she wants screen time, she must hand in one of her tokens. Set a time limit for each token that is suitable for the age of your child. For example, one token could equal ten minutes of screen time. You may want to set a limit for the number of tokens that your child can use each day. Write down these rules and explain them well to stop any arguments before they start.
- Let your child know that if she has no tokens, she will have to do more chores to earn screen time.
Your little ones will be so excited to earn their tokens that they will not realize how many helpful tasks they are completing.
