This Media Balance and Well-being Guide provides key points, guiding questions, and a toolkit of resources to help parents support healthy and balanced technology use in the home.

Anticipate challenges and take proactive action

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

• Anticipate student challenges and turn them into learning opportunities.
• Model, teach, and mentor students around appropriate technology use.
• Use reflective language that supports student problem solving when challenges arise.

Ensure screen-time is educational.

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

When using digital media, look for opportunities to teach media literacy and character traits.

When using digital media, consider:

• The content.
• The context (when, where, why, how and with whom).
• The different needs of children in relation to technology and media use.
• The added value of the technology/media use.

Use Technology in a Goal-Directed and Purposeful Manner

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

• Technology use should be intentional with a goal or purpose in mind.
• Using technology to avoid uncomfortable feelings such as boredom impacts our ability to find productive ways to manage feelings.

Balance Online and Offline Learning Experiences and Materials

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

• Face to face and digital communication and collaboration are both necessary and need direct instruction, practice, monitoring, and mentoring.
• Children need opportunities to use a variety of materials for learning.
• Be mindful of the volume of digital media consumption.

Prioritize active use of technology for creation, critical thinking, and collaboration.

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

• Favor activities that use technology for creation, communication, research, modeling and data analysis
• Promote active engagement where students are involved in critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, and expressing
• Too much passive use of technology correlates with increased depression, anxiety and attention issues.

Use high quality, age appropriate, and FCPS approved educational resources

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

• Use digital tools and other media that are an appropriate match for a child's needs, abilities, interests, and developmental stage.
• FCPS students have access to a library of approved tools and digital resources in the FCPS Digital Ecosystem.

Use routines to develop healthy habits for technology use.

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

• Technology can impact your health, much like nutrition, sleep and exercise.
• Use strategies to protect your eyes and prevent eye strain.
• Maintain good posture and body positioning when using a device.
• Become educated about potential negative effects of excessive screen time in terms of social, emotional, and neurobiological effects and methods to prevent them.

Create and Consistently Follow Expectations for Technology Use

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

Create and consistently follow home expectations that address:

• What a caring and culturally responsive environment looks and sounds like.
• When, where, and what technology can be used and under what conditions.
• Care and maintenance of equipment.

Actively Monitor and Mediate Technology Use

Key Points for Parents and Guardians to Remember

• Monitor your own digital footprint.
• Monitor and mediate children’s interactions in digital environments.
• Help children understand, interpret, and analyze what they see, hear and experience online.
• Model and teach self-regulation strategies for managing challenges when online.