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Students play on phones and tablets.
Why It’s Important to Schedule Screen Breaks During School Breaks

By Megan Shaw, Social-Emotional Support Counselor, Rowland Hall Middle School

School breaks are a great time to ease routines and structure for kids—but that doesn’t mean they should fill their extra time with screens.

Setting limits to online time is one of the best ways to help students recharge during a school break.

In fact, setting limits to online time is one of the best ways to help students recharge during a school break. It improves physical health by allowing for better sleep quality, and it improves mental health (for example, people who pause social media use report feeling less anxious and experiencing better moods in general).

Focusing on family connections, improved sleep, reduced stress and anxiety, and more quality time are all beneficial reasons to talk with your child about putting down the screens over break. Below are a few tips that will help your family successfully pause screen time.

Start by disabling notifications.

Device notifications are one of the quickest ways we get sucked back into a screen—they’re incredibly distracting. By taking the time to turn off notifications, you’ll greatly reduce the temptation to pick up a phone, tablet, or other device.

Set time limits as a family.

As a parent or caregiver, it is important to model behavior for your child. If everyone commits to less time in front of a screen, there is more likelihood of success. Plus, having conversations as a family about how you want to approach screen time will lead to better buy-in from everyone. Try making a family media plan, and be sure to refer to (and update) it often.

Plan alternative activities.

Fill what would have been used as screen time with moments of connection. Head for the mountains, take the dogs for a walk, or play a board or card game. Be sure to keep in mind the moments when you know the temptation to be on a screen is strongest—for example, plan a group activity, such as a family walk, for after dinner, or bring a book to a waiting room.

Partner with other families.

Kids (and adults, for that matter!) can feel real FOMO when screen time is limited. Make it easier on kids by connecting with families who are also committed to screen-free time. Reach out to parents in your child's friend group to establish norms and expectations around screen usage, as well as to find times for your children to hang out in person during screen breaks.

Talk about it.

Don’t expect children to make changes on their own. Talk about it as a family and emphasize why it’s important to you. Help your child understand the benefits of taking screen breaks (and limiting their daily use when they’re not on break), including why it helps them get better sleep or experience less stress and anxiety. And be sure to welcome your child’s questions and ideas.

Want to learn more? Check out The PrinciPALS Podcast episode on screen time.

About Megan Shaw
Megan Shaw is a licensed clinical social worker who is passionate about helping students grow into their best selves. Prior to becoming a counselor, Megan was a middle school math and science teacher, an assistant dean, and a yoga teacher.

Social-Emotional Learning

Supporting Middle School Students in All Areas of Their Adolescent Development Through the Advisory Program

At Rowland Hall, each Middle School student is part of a grade-level advisory, a small group that meets regularly and becomes a tight-knit community within our larger Middle School community.

We support students in all areas of their adolescent development, knowing that the most impactful learning happens when students feel known, cared about, safe, and advocated for. Each advisor’s main focus to build a strong connection with each child and foster positive relationships among the advisory group. Advisors encourage, support, and motivate student growth, serving as guides and main touchpoints throughout the school year for academic, social, and emotional support.

Advisory further serves as a platform for students to develop their individual and collective skills, as well as the resiliency required to navigate all aspects of adolescent life, and to build a toolkit of metacognitive, social, emotional, and civic skills. Through advisory, students engage in lessons and activities focused on social-emotional learning, academic advising, positive identity development and cultural competency, and community engagement—four key areas of the work we do throughout the Middle School.

  • Social-emotional learning: Also known as SEL, social-emotional learning includes five core themes: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management, and responsible decision-making. There is a strong correlation between academic success and social-emotional learning.
  • Academic advising: It is important that all students see themselves as effective learners and that they can accurately assess and develop skills to achieve that goal. Executive functioning skills can be learned, but they have to be taught and require practice.
  • Positive identity development and cultural competency: This work can be summarized as: Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? Why are we better together? To help create a positive sense of self-identity, students explore identity markers and investigate tropes, biases, stereotypes, power, privilege, and culture. This includes developing a greater understanding and appreciation of our culture and the cultures of others, and exploring how the principles of inclusion and equity help communities function positively and healthfully.
  • Community engagement: Helping students find a place in our community and society is an important function of schools, inspiring students who make a positive difference in the world. Through community engagement and service learning, students learn to see themselves as positive agents of change in their communities.

Community

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