TPP 012a: A Conversation with 11-year-old Asher About Managing & Tracking Screen Time

In this special kid’s POV edition, Asher and I talk about SCREEN TIME. Like many families with children (differently-wired or not), the issue of screen time — how much, what kind, and when — is something we are constantly grappling with. And because like many other differently-wired kids, Asher is really into the games and projects he’s got going on in his virtual world, we’ve struggled to come up with an approach that feels good for Derin and me as parents while also helping Asher learn how to be more responsible for his time and behavior online (and after he shuts down).

In this episode, Asher and I detail our current approach for tracking screen time, which we co-designed in such a way that it will help him learn to track his own time, set intentions for how he will spend his time, and stay emotionally regulated both while online and when it’s time to get off. (That’s the goal anyway!). And if you want to give our approach a try, download our Screen Time Planning Worksheet below!

Things You'll Learn from This Episode:

• The strategy we’re using to help Asher learn to be more responsible for his screen time, as well as support more peaceful transitions from screen to the real world
• Why time warnings might actually create anxiety rather than smooth transitions
• How frequent brain breaks can support healthy screen time habits

Resources Mentioned:

• Download a PDF of Asher’s New and Improved Screen Time Planning Worksheet
• The Productivity Planner from Intelligent Design
• The Pomodoro Technique
• Time Tracker Visual Timer and Clock from Fun and Function

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