{"id":95244,"date":"2019-05-11T07:07:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-11T14:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=95244"},"modified":"2025-08-25T08:09:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:09:01","slug":"saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a little prep work to do to make sure the summer doesn\u2019t lull our kids into digital comas.<\/p>\n<p>Most of us have learned that <a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/consumer\/family-safety\/report-digital-games-can-be-addictive-so-what-can-parents-do-next\/\">given zero limits<\/a>, kids will play video games, watch YouTube, send snaps, and scroll Instagram into the midnight hours. This ever-present digital lure, combined with the\u00a0\u201csummer slide,\u201d which is the academic ground kids lose over the summer, means that most parents are hoping to make the most of the summer months need to get proactive \u2014 now.<\/p>\n<p>No matter your child\u2019s age, teaching kids to use technology in a healthy way and pick up skills and habits that will make them savvy digital citizens, becomes even more critical in the summer months. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/depression\/news\/20160315\/could-too-much-cellphone-time-signal-anxiety-depression#1\">Studies\u00a0show<\/a> that excess\u00a0screen time can lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/consumer\/family-safety\/family-matters-how-to-help-kids-avoid-cyberbullies-this-summer\/\">increased cyberbullying<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/consumer\/family-safety\/helping-kids-cope-with-three-bs-bragging-betrayal-body-image\/\">low self-esteem<\/a>, depression, isolation, and anxiety in children and teens.\u00a0Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) has now classified\u00a0a new form of addiction called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/health-science\/world-health-organization-recognizes-a-new-form-of-addiction-gaming-disorder\/2018\/06\/29\/fb3eb2e2-74b3-11e8-805c-4b67019fcfe4_story.html\">\u201cgaming disorder.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0That designation means health professionals\u00a0can now treat dangerous levels of video gaming as a legitimate addiction. (Yes, this is the new normal of parenting).<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Warning signs of too much tech:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Tantrums or inappropriate resistance to screen limits or refusing to let you see their devices<\/li>\n<li>Lack of sleep (which can cause anger outbursts, moodiness, fatigue, and even illness)<\/li>\n<li>Isolation and decrease in face-to-face time with friends and family<\/li>\n<li>Complaining about family outings and declining invitations to participate in activities<\/li>\n<li>Losing interest in physical activity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tech balance in one family will look different than in another because every family has its own values, dynamic, and parenting styles. You may have to establish ground rules together and make edits over time \u2014 that\u2019s okay, stay flexible. The important thing is to set limits and <em>set them together, so your<\/em> child feels as if he or she is part of the process and learns how and why to self-regulate over time.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some tips for launching your family conversation and getting summer off to a positive, tech-healthy start.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Discuss and agree on limits.<\/strong> Consider what an average day looks like. Where are the critical gaps where connection can happen? Maybe it\u2019s transition times when you pick up your child from camp or a friend\u2019s house. Perhaps it\u2019s the hour after you get home from work, during meals, movie time, or in restaurants. Maybe it\u2019s family outing such as the pool, the zoo, the theatre, roadmap time, or outdoors. Also, setting a device curfew in the summer months is more critical since kids like to take their devices to bed and keep scrolling.Discuss <em>why<\/em> and <em>when<\/em> your family should be screen-free and then put your commitment in writing in a Summer Family Media plan (every age range will require different ground rules). The American Academy of Pediatrics\u2019 website has a fun, easy form you can fill out to create your Family Media Plan based on your child\u2019s age.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pay attention to content:<\/strong> Setting screen limits doesn\u2019t matter much if the content your child views isn\u2019thealthy. A few questions to help assess content:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the content age-appropriate?<\/li>\n<li>Are the apps my\u00a0child\u00a0uses interactive and learning-based or mind-numbing or even risky?<\/li>\n<li>Do my\u00a0family\u2019s technology habits require <a href=\"https:\/\/family.mcafee.com\/\">filtering software to<\/a> help block inappropriate websites?<\/li>\n<li>Are the privacy settings on social media and gaming accounts set to restrict what strangers can see and who can send a direct message to my child?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Jump into the fun.<\/strong> Part of teaching kids to understand healthy technology habits is taking the time to meet them where they are in their digital world \u2014 their favorite hangouts. When they understand you aren\u2019t limiting screen time to punish them and that technology in itself isn\u2019t bad, they will be more likely to see the benefits of balance and self-regulate in the future. What online games do they play? Consider watching them excel in their craft and cheering them on. Better yet, grab a controller and play along. What social media sites does your child love? Join in on Snapchat and let them teach you how to have fun with photo filters on the app.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be hyper intentional. <\/strong>Zig Ziglar once said that to a child, \u201clove\u201d is spelled T-I-M-E. Under the influence of today\u2019s digital culture, nothing is assumed, and most everything requires intentionality \u2014 especially grabbing the quality time we desire. Consider sitting down as a family and creating a summer bucket list of things you\u2019d like to do before summer ends. Maybe it\u2019s more movie nights, more beach time, a family craft or building project, volunteer work, board games, workout time, trips, whatever \u2014 be realistic that nothing on your list will happen without serious intention.<\/li>\n<li><strong>From monitoring to mentoring.<\/strong> It\u2019s always a good idea to monitor your child\u2019s online activities. We are big fans of filtering software and understanding what social networks and apps your kids frequent. However, because you likely have more face-to-face with your kids in the summer months, think about ways to mentor them. Talk about current events related to online safety, pay attention to their friend groups on and offline, and use this extra time to reset some digital goals that may have slipped off your radar during the school year. Some possible goals: Set up your own Snapchat account, finally learn to use Twitter, educate yourself on <a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/consumer\/family-safety\/kik-messenger-dangerous-app-kids-love\/\">dangerous apps<\/a>, or let your child teach you how to improve your digital skills. With this extra valuable time over the summer, you can cover some serious ground by talking more about concepts like conflict-management, empathy, resilience, self-awareness, and digital responsibility, which will all help strengthen digital skills.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In your quest to establish summer ground rules that work for your family, don\u2019t overlook the importance of the peer-to-peer connection that technology brings. Technology is the primary channel (like it or not) kids have to build their friendships, stay the loop, and to be affirmed. They need hangout time, and that\u2019s usually online. Keep this in mind as you work together to find the balance that works best for your family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":642,"featured_media":95246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10670,12],"tags":[75,5739,100,5738,5735,2205,5532,5531,4222,321,5741,5736,5740,5133,5737,5099],"coauthors":[3359],"class_list":["post-95244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips-tricks","category-family-safety","tag-cyberbullying","tag-device-monitoring","tag-facebook","tag-family-media-plan","tag-gaming-disorder","tag-protecting-kids-online","tag-screen-limits","tag-screen-time","tag-social-media","tag-social-networking","tag-summer-break","tag-summer-slide","tag-summer-vacation","tag-technology-addiction","tag-technology-limits","tag-teens-online"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break | McAfee Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a little prep work to do to make sure the No matter your child\u2019s age, teaching kids to use technology in a healthy way and pick up skills and habits that will make them savvy digital citizens, becomes even more critical in the summer months. Studies\u00a0show that excess\u00a0screen time can lead to increased cyberbullying, low self-esteem, depression, isolation, and anxiety in children and teens.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break | McAfee Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a little prep work to do to make sure the No matter your child\u2019s age, teaching kids to use technology in a healthy way and pick up skills and habits that will make them savvy digital citizens, becomes even more critical in the summer months. Studies\u00a0show that excess\u00a0screen time can lead to increased cyberbullying, low self-esteem, depression, isolation, and anxiety in children and teens.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"McAfee Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-11T14:07:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-25T15:09:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"668\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Toni Birdsong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@McAfee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@McAfee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Toni Birdsong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Toni Birdsong\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/43ae9712cde24fe81854f2daa0af1228\"},\"headline\":\"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-11T14:07:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-25T15:09:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/\"},\"wordCount\":1048,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cyberbullying\",\"device monitoring\",\"facebook\",\"family media plan\",\"gaming disorder\",\"protecting kids online\",\"screen limits\",\"screen time\",\"social media\",\"social networking\",\"summer break\",\"summer slide\",\"summer vacation\",\"technology addiction\",\"technology limits\",\"teens online\"],\"articleSection\":[\"How To Guides and Tutorials\",\"Family Safety\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/\",\"name\":\"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break | McAfee Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-11T14:07:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-25T15:09:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a little prep work to do to make sure the No matter your child\u2019s age, teaching kids to use technology in a healthy way and pick up skills and habits that will make them savvy digital citizens, becomes even more critical in the summer months. Studies\u00a0show that excess\u00a0screen time can lead to increased cyberbullying, low self-esteem, depression, isolation, and anxiety in children and teens.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":668,\"caption\":\"summer screen time\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Family Safety\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/\",\"name\":\"McAfee Blog\",\"description\":\"Internet Security News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#organization\",\"name\":\"McAfee\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mcafee-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mcafee-logo.png\",\"width\":1286,\"height\":336,\"caption\":\"McAfee\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/McAfee\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mcafee\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/McAfee\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/43ae9712cde24fe81854f2daa0af1228\",\"name\":\"Toni Birdsong\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/de48b651aa67772c9c2a8d7e7eee076a\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Toni-Black-Shirt-Headshot-150x150.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Toni-Black-Shirt-Headshot-150x150.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Toni Birdsong\"},\"description\":\"Toni Birdsong began her career as a reporter in Los Angeles and later became a writer for Walt Disney Imagineering. Her passion for digital safety started 10 years ago as a way to gain the survival skills she needed to parent her own connected teenagers. Her goal with each post is to give busy parents the insight they need raise wiser, more compassionate digital kids. When she\u2019s not writing (her first love), you can find Toni hiking, watching TikTok, or trying not to break an important body part at CrossFit.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/author\/toni-birdsong\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break | McAfee Blog","description":"It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a little prep work to do to make sure the No matter your child\u2019s age, teaching kids to use technology in a healthy way and pick up skills and habits that will make them savvy digital citizens, becomes even more critical in the summer months. Studies\u00a0show that excess\u00a0screen time can lead to increased cyberbullying, low self-esteem, depression, isolation, and anxiety in children and teens.\u00a0","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break | McAfee Blog","og_description":"It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a little prep work to do to make sure the No matter your child\u2019s age, teaching kids to use technology in a healthy way and pick up skills and habits that will make them savvy digital citizens, becomes even more critical in the summer months. Studies\u00a0show that excess\u00a0screen time can lead to increased cyberbullying, low self-esteem, depression, isolation, and anxiety in children and teens.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/","og_site_name":"McAfee Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/","article_published_time":"2019-05-11T14:07:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-25T15:09:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":668,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Toni Birdsong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@McAfee","twitter_site":"@McAfee","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Toni Birdsong","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/"},"author":{"name":"Toni Birdsong","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/43ae9712cde24fe81854f2daa0af1228"},"headline":"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break","datePublished":"2019-05-11T14:07:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-25T15:09:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/"},"wordCount":1048,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg","keywords":["cyberbullying","device monitoring","facebook","family media plan","gaming disorder","protecting kids online","screen limits","screen time","social media","social networking","summer break","summer slide","summer vacation","technology addiction","technology limits","teens online"],"articleSection":["How To Guides and Tutorials","Family Safety"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/","name":"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break | McAfee Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg","datePublished":"2019-05-11T14:07:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-25T15:09:01+00:00","description":"It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year \u2014 for teachers and lifeguards. For everyone else (parents) we have a little prep work to do to make sure the No matter your child\u2019s age, teaching kids to use technology in a healthy way and pick up skills and habits that will make them savvy digital citizens, becomes even more critical in the summer months. Studies\u00a0show that excess\u00a0screen time can lead to increased cyberbullying, low self-esteem, depression, isolation, and anxiety in children and teens.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shutterstock_508422022.jpg","width":1000,"height":668,"caption":"summer screen time"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/saving-summer-5-strategies-to-help-reign-in-family-screen-time-over-break\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Family Safety","item":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Saving Summer: 5 Strategies to Help Reign In Family Screen Time Over Break"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/","name":"McAfee Blog","description":"Internet Security News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#organization","name":"McAfee","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mcafee-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mcafee-logo.png","width":1286,"height":336,"caption":"McAfee"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/","https:\/\/x.com\/McAfee","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mcafee\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/McAfee"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/43ae9712cde24fe81854f2daa0af1228","name":"Toni Birdsong","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/de48b651aa67772c9c2a8d7e7eee076a","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Toni-Black-Shirt-Headshot-150x150.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Toni-Black-Shirt-Headshot-150x150.jpeg","caption":"Toni Birdsong"},"description":"Toni Birdsong began her career as a reporter in Los Angeles and later became a writer for Walt Disney Imagineering. Her passion for digital safety started 10 years ago as a way to gain the survival skills she needed to parent her own connected teenagers. Her goal with each post is to give busy parents the insight they need raise wiser, more compassionate digital kids. When she\u2019s not writing (her first love), you can find Toni hiking, watching TikTok, or trying not to break an important body part at CrossFit.","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/author\/toni-birdsong\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/642"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95244"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":220941,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95244\/revisions\/220941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95244"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=95244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}