Brittany Baron

If your back-to-school plans include a shake-up of routine and a reset you are definitely not alone.

A theme in our end-of-summer parent sideline chatter has been the much-anticipated reduction of screen time that comes with school and a new routine. If you have followed our family over on @fivepax social media for a while you know, we are all about that screen-free life. For years our kids watched cartoons on weekend mornings while we prepped for adventures. And then maybe a few hours on a rare afternoon when we the parents needed to get some work done.

As the older kids have gotten bigger we have extended to 3 hours of tech each week with more hours available to be earned through chores. We have had a million things in our favor (a kiddo with screen anxiety to start). But we have also made a lot of intentional decisions as well. And we stick to them even when our kids let us know how unfair it seems. More on how below.

But let’s be real, it’s hard. Really hard to both set limits yes, but to stick to them.

Here are 5 strategies to help your family cut back on screen time that don’t feel like a dreaded punishment for everyone involved. These tips will leave you feeling confident about how to limit screen time for kids and set everyone up for a successful school year.