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Reduce Screen Time Tools and Resources
To help families and communities reduce screen time, We Can!® has developed a variety of useful, evidence-based materials and information.
Note: Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader®. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader®
Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook
Help Children Reduce Screen Time Tip Sheet and Screen Time Log
Screen Time Reduction: Curricula
Screen Time Reduction: Audio News Release
Screen Time Reduction: We Can! News Stories
Parent Handbook
Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook
Offers practical tips from We Can! to help parents help their families find the right balance of eating well and being physically active to maintain a healthy weight. The Parent Handbook received the 2005 NIH Plain Language Award for an Outstanding Plain Language Product.
- Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook
(1.5 MB) - Available in Spanish: ¡Nosotros Podemos! Familias Encontrando el Balance: Manual para Padres (1.9 MB) or you can order the Spanish-language version online.
- You can also order the handbook online.
Help Children Reduce Screen Time Tip Sheet
Follow these few simple tips to help your children reduce their screen time and increase physical activity in order to maintain a healthy weight.
We Can! Reduce Children’s Screen Time Log
A tracking chart to help assess the amount of time children and other family members spend watching TV, playing video games, or using the computer for recreational purposes.
Screen Time Reduction: Curricula
We Can! offers three curricula that address screen time reduction.
- Student Media Awareness to Reduce Television, also known as S.M.A.R.T., is a curriculum that helps motivate children to reduce their television watching and video game usage.
- Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!® is a 10-lesson curriculum that focuses on helping young people ages 11 to 13 understand the connections between media and health.
- We Can! Energize Our Families: Parent Program includes a session dedicated to helping parents reduce the screen time and increase the physical activity levels of their families. During the Parent Program, parents are introduced to youth screen time statistics and learn how to use tools like the We Can! Reduce Children’s Screen Time Log.
Screen Time Reduction: Audio News Release
This 60-second audio recording is a pre-packaged news story that We Can! sent to radio stations. Karen Donato, We Can! Coordinator, speaks about the importance of reducing screen time.
- Listen to the audio version
MP3 (1 MB) - Read the transcript
Screen Time Reduction: We Can! News Stories
The following news stories and press releases address how We Can! and its community sites and partners are working to reduce screen time.
- We Can! Joins National Call for Reduced Screen Time During Turnoff Week
- April 24-30 is TV-Turnoff Week, We Can! Offers Families Tips and Resources to Help Them Turn Off the TV
- We Can! and the Acting U.S. Surgeon General Promote Turnoff Week 2008
(232 KB), to help you track your hours and help you cut back.
