One Thing to Do Before the iPad Comes Out

Set out the next thing first

Before the tablet comes on, put out what happens after it. A tray of blocks, a bath, a plate of fruit. Two minutes of preparation, and the end of screen time stops being an emergency.

Why it works

Children do not struggle with the screen ending. They struggle with the emptiness after it. When the next thing is already visible on the table, the transition has somewhere to go.

Say it out loud

"When this is finished, your puzzle is on the table." The child hears the ending and the next step in the same sentence, which is much easier to accept than a surprise announcement.

Keep it small

Not a craft project. Something that can be started without help and finished, or abandoned, without you.

Do it even when you are tired

Especially then. The two minutes you spend setting out the tray is the time you would otherwise spend arguing about turning it off.

Try it for a week

One week of set-out-first is usually enough to feel the difference. If it does not help, you have lost two minutes a day and learned something about your child's timing.