Parents walking down sidewalk while daughter does a cartwheel in front of them. Text overlay reads “Spring Break Screentime Prep”

Spring Break Screentime Prep

Do the words “spring break” make you want to jump up and down or groan in agony? A full week with your family is an absolute gift, but at the same time, it can be completely intimidating. On today’s blog, we break down five ways to prepare for spring break so you can minimize screentime and maximize memory-making.

5 Ways for Coaches to Combat the Screentime Struggle

The positive effects of participating in youth sports are numbered, yet there is a distracting new teammate causing disengagement among today’s athletes—the smartphone. Instead of focusing on the game, players run to the bench to check their phones for notifications. Instead of practicing drills outside, teens spend hours inside scrolling through social media.

Time Matters: A Mother’s Essay

We all know time matters. For parents, we need to focus on how we spend that time. From the moment our children are born until the time they graduate, we have approximately 936 weeks with them. In the book Playing for Keeps by Reggie Joiner, Kristen Ivy and Liz Hansen, these precious weeks are illustrated with a jar filled with marbles—each marble representing one week.

Trauma-Informed Screentime Boundaries

We recently chatted with a mom who has an adopted son from foster care. Due to past trauma, she explained that he could experience things differently…one of those things is video games. The moment we heard her story, we wanted to know more and understand how the START community could help by raising awareness.

Tables + Bedtimes

In the thick of flurries of group texting, news checking, and zoom scheduling, you might sense that you—and your kids—are online more than ever. But just like our devices need to recharge, so do we. If you are looking for a couple of zones to designate as “device-free”—we suggest tables and bedtimes.