In today’s digital age, managing screen time is a significant challenge for parents of children with ADHD. The allure of video games, social media, and streaming platforms can lead to dysregulation and exacerbate ADHD symptoms.
I have not only worked within many households working with the family to manage struggling ADHD behaviours. But also ran a Gaming Orientated Group for youth with Neurodevelopmental Conditions such as Autism and ADHD.
And so I wanted to share my absolute golden must do rules in any households to minimize the dysregulation that is associated with screen time.
The 1.5-Hour Rule
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I can start a stop watch from the moment the kids (and adults) jump onto video games, and the second they become overly excited, start throwing insults, start getting upset and frustrated, or even just become derailed from their objective or goal within the game. Hit stop of the timer and sure enough, it's been one and a half hours. I've had other workers jaw's drop after seeing the consistency to this fixed time limit of regulation.
It's why I always encouraged during the gaming sessions that we get up and move, we go outside, we have a food break away from the computer tables.
And when at home, it's very much the same. They can return to the games after 15-30 minutes of a break, so long as it's a long enough break to get them reset.
If left beyond this threshold, both children and adults with ADHD tend to hit dysregulation, which can lead to increased irritability, hyperactivity, and difficulty transitioning away from screens. Fights begin between the kids, between the parents. The children get angry about transitioning as they've become locked on and likely to burn out earlier in the day than any of us would like.
Avoid Games Without Clear Endings
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Certain types of games are particularly problematic for individuals with ADHD. Those with ADHD already struggle with transitions. Building up that momentum and motivation to go from one thing to another. For adults, this can look as simple as making it out of the car to go inside at the end of the long day. But for kids, transitioning away from that game, oh boy you're in for a bad time. And if those games don’t have clear rounds or endings, such as Fortnite, Roblox, and various mobile games with loot crates, prizes, and coins, act as dopamine slot machines. There is no clear transitional period, and this makes your job as a parent all that much harder.
These games are designed to keep players engaged indefinitely, making it almost impossible to find a natural stopping point. It makes the developers a ton of money if they can trap you after all.
Eliminate Shorts, TikToks, and Reels
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Short-form video content, such as TikToks, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels, should be eliminated from the screen time all together. These platforms provide a constant stream of quick, engaging content that can be incredibly stimulating for individuals with ADHD. The rapid, ever-changing nature of these videos can lead to overstimulation and make it difficult for individuals to focus on less stimulating tasks.
They are designed with the purpose of trapping and locking those on the platform.
Tiktok even has a built in function that when you hit the back button on an Android to leave their platform, it actually refreshes the video feed in a last attempt of trapping you again. If you waited a few seconds and hit the back button again, it'll just refresh it once more.
These platforms are not your friend, they are not designed to help your child regulate themselves. Their purpose is to make money off your viewing, they don't want to make it easy to leave, and they will use all the psychological tricks out there to keep you engaged.
Monitor YouTube and Game Streamers
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YouTube and game streaming platforms often feature content creators who engage in over-the-top, hyperactive behaviour. While entertaining, this type of content can rile up children with ADHD to unbelievable proportions. It's important to monitor and limit exposure to these channels, focusing instead on calmer, slower paced content or actual Netflix, Disney Plus shows that doesn’t contribute to heightened energy levels and impulsivity.
The times I've watched children's mood's shift when they've begun watching video game streamers, even if it's Minecraft based is mortifying. I have grown a strong dislike to the content after seeing the effects it has time and time and time again.
Structured Screen Time with Visual Cues
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Instead of allowing a set amount of screen time to be used whenever, allocate specific time slots for screen usage.
For example, rather than giving an hour of screen time to be used at any point, set a specific time such as "You can play from 5 pm to 6 pm."
This structure helps children understand when screen time is allowed and when it’s time to transition to other activities. It provides predictability. ADHD children can't monitor or manage time effectively as it is, it's part of the inherent deficits of the disorder.
And so when you provide them with a set amount of screen time to use throughout the length of a day, their inability to regulate seemingly anything (they're either all or nothing). This will NEVER go the way you want it too, or they want it too. Always asking for more time, or they left the screen on and it used up their time. Or just 5 more minutes. Or it cut them off at a pinnacle point in their game and, let's be honest. Cliffhangers suck.
Giving them a set time they can jump on and time they must jump off, with visual and audible reminders, while playing games with clear end points, and within an hour and a half.
And everything gets far easier.
ADHD screen addiction strategies parenting tips
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