<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Your screen time is rising. Here's how to stop it"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The screentime battles are already in full swing with my niece.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">She turned 2 years old in January. “I want iPad,” she wails across the house during lunchtime. She refuses to eat, even though I can tell she’s “hangry.” She’s even more inconsolable when I tell her she can watch 10 minutes of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbCmjCuTUZos6Inko4u57UQ" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">Cocomelon</a> only <em>after</em> she takes at least three bites of her lunch. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">If it were up to me, I would throw “her” iPad away. I’m not kidding. I can’t stand to watch her – one of the most intelligent and empathic toddlers I’ve ever been around – get completely sucked in and tuned out on screens. </p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">She taps and swipes and stares, totally hypnotized by its magnetic pull. Screens are already her go-to method of comfort, her favorite reward – even better than candy! – and all too often, the on-demand babysitter for her parents, who are overwhelmed and just trying to make it through the day. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">There’s a lot to unpack here, and I have no idea how to help. To be fair, I whip out a phone as fast as anyone else when we’re all out to dinner together, and the crayons and puzzles stop working. We all just need a few bites of our food and five minutes of adult conversation, right? </p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">What’s worse, I often feel powerless against the pull of my screens too. I have zero doubt that smartphones have rewired our brains in negative ways. Not because <a target="_blank" href="https://www.verywellmind.com/how-do-smartphones-affect-the-brain-2794892" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">so many new studies</a> suggest it, but because of how I feel and what I see happening in the world around me. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The always-on gadgets that...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/tips/2024/04/16/tech-stressing-kids-undo-damage/73278462007/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
