Several years ago, when our kids were little, and as more and more screens entered our hourly lives, Jenny and I started using “screen time” as our go-to consequence for misbehavior.

A few years ago, when our kids became teens, and as screens became an integral part of their schoolwork, we started putting some clear boundaries around their screen time. Giving them a budget of time for each day, disallowing any screens behind closed doors, and turning in their phones at a certain time of night, relative to their ages.

Now, as our kids are squarely in the launching process, and as screens are replacing reality for much of the world, I find myself needing to put more restrictions and consequences in place…for myself.

Here’s a few I’m learning:

• If I want to sleep well, I need to refrain my brain from any and all screen time at least 15 mins before nighty-night.
• If I want to work well, I need to take physical breaks from sitting and screening (whether laptop, tablet, or phone) at least 10 minutes per hour.
• If I want to love well, I need to:

-Never bring the phone to dinner

-Eliminate all bells, buzzes, and whistles associated with texts or alerts. Whenever I pick my phone          back up, I’ll see who and what needs my attention.

-Put screens away from my eyes and ears when someone is speaking to me. To the people who mean the most to me, I’m striving to give the best of me.

What are some screen time rules that work for you?

Peace begins with pause,