Lee Crespi, LCSW

One of the most common concerns that I have heard from my clients who are parents is how to manage their children's screen time.  The increasing presence of video gaming, IPads, cell phones, and computers for children at younger and younger ages presents a complex of issues that many parents of older generations cannot comprehend.  Part of the difficulty is the realization that this generation of parents is often equally involved in screentime perhaps even to excess themselves.  In addition, parents have come to appreciate some of the benefits of allowing their kids to have cell phones, for example.  Now they can keep in much closer contact with their kids and communicate more easily.  Allowing your child to watch a movie on an IPad on long car trips really does reduce the bickering and whining that have long been associated with these rides "Are we there yet?" "He's poking me!" etc.  But screens are mesmerizing, and it can be difficult to set and enforce limits it a constructive way - or even know what limits are appropriate and realistic.  So I was very pleased to read, in a recent edition of the NYTimes (March 20, 2015) a very clear and cogent article entitled "How to Manage Media in Families" .  While the author does not offer simple answers, he does give examples that can help the reader think through their own approach to managing this ever more complex and growing issue.