Could 4 ‘Simple’ Rules Solve Your Child’s Screen Problem? Expert Says Yes

Could 4 ‘Simple’ Rules Solve Your Child’s Screen Problem? Expert Says Yes

By Movieguide® Contributor

Could four simple rules save your child from screen addiction? New York University professor Jonathan Haidt believes they could.

He advocates for a smartphone-free childhood, a movement that’s taken off around the world as people begin to understand the increase in child and teen mental health issues correlated to smartphone use.

“The reason why this is such a global problem and the reason why many parents feel so powerless is that when we each act alone and try to say: ‘No, you’re not getting a smartphone,’ our child says: ‘But I’m the only one who doesn’t have one. I’m excluded,” Haidt, who wrote The Anxious Generation, told CNBC.

“So when we face this as individuals, we’re trapped, and it gets worse and worse, and because we’re stuck in a collective action problem, the only way out is through collective action,” he added.

READ MORE: PSYCHOLOGIST URGES PARENTS TO ‘ACT TOGETHER’ TO KEEP KIDS OFF SMARTPHONES

Haidt encourages parents to follow his “four simple norms” to “delay giving smartphones to their children.”

“Two of them need government, two don’t,” he said. “Four simple norms and if most of us do them we solve the problem.”

1. No smartphones before 14: “Let them have a flip phone, but remember, a smartphone isn’t really a phone. They could make phone calls on it, but it’s a multi-purpose device by which the world can get to your children,” Haidt urged.
2. No social media before 16: “Social media is wildly inappropriate for minors…so no social media till 16,” he said.
3. Phone-free schools: “What we’re seeing is…the teachers all hate the phones, kids can’t learn when they’re on TikTok and video games and porn during class,” the professor said.
4. More free play: Haidt explained that we need “far more free play and independence in the real world,” and “we have to give kids back an exciting childhood.”

Organizations like the UK-based Smartphone Free Childhood share his goals. “Smartphone Free Childhood is a grassroots movement bringing parents together to stand up for healthier, happier childhoods,” the organization says. They also have a U.S.-based branch.

HGTV stars Erin and Ben Napier spearheaded a similar organization called Osprey, which they launched in August 2023.

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