Did you know that your kids get five important needs met by playing video games? Screens provide immediate stimulation, predictability in an uncertain world, ownership, social interaction (not the way we want it, but they do connect this way)….and confidence. Your kids may not be great at school or behaving well, but they rock at their video games and that gives them a sense of accomplishment they don’t get elsewhere. So of course they want to play a lot.
But then we come along and say, “Hey, you know that activity that meets five important needs for you? Stop doing it!”
If you really want to get your kids off screens without huge power struggles, you have to meet those same needs in positive, purposeful ways…otherwise there is a huge void left. No, you don’t have to go Amish on your kids and cut off electricity. But you do need to meet their needs. Want to learn how to do exactly that? It’s easier than constantly taking phones and video games away all the time! Click here to learn how to control screens so they don’t control your family.
