For Leeton mother Rebecca Schmetzer, like many other parents, keeping her two children away from the screens is a constant battle. 

“I limit the kids to one hour a day, including homework time on the screens,” Ms Schmetzer said. 

“On weekend’s I allow up to three hours.” 

Ms Schmetzer said it can be difficult to resist the easy option of giving a child a screen to entertain. 

“I try and keep them busy with sports and the outdoors,” Ms Schmetzer said. 

“They get rewarded for their behavior but of course sometimes I also have cheat days.” 

Wagga’s Charles Sturt University research fellow Kate Highfield, a specialist in effective technology learning, said parents need to ensure children are creating, rather than consuming.

“It is all about the decisions you make as a parent,” Ms Highfield said. 

“You make decisions that work for your family and your belief structures, technology is no different.” 

Ms Highfield recommended parents change their own behavior surrounding screens for their children to mimic. 

“International guidelines state that there should be no screens for children under two years old,” Ms Highfield said. 

“Children will follow exactly what we, as adults, are doing. 

“If you are looking at your screen often, it is normal behavior for a child to follow.” 

Ms Highfield said offering children an alternative activity is the way to go. 

“It is the challenge of getting them to transition into something else,” Ms Highfield said. 

“Parents need to turn off the screens and read a book together, rather than leaving them with nothing. 

“It can help children understand that screens are just part of the day, not the whole day.” 

Griffith mother Ms Kellyanne Edis said she sticks to a specific schedule with her children, allowing about two hours a day of screen time. 

“We don’t have any screens out in the morning and we don’t have any after dinner so it is just after school,” Ms Edis said. 

“If we let our son have the iPad in his room he would be watching it every night so we always make sure to take it out,” Ms Edis said. 

“The boys do always ask for screens, even my one-year-old grabs the phone and starts to swipe.” 

Ms Edis said the struggle of restricting screen time is a constant conversation with fellow parents. 

“We talk about it all the time and everyone has a different way of dealing with it,” Ms Edis said. 

“One of my friends gets the screens out on a Friday afternoon and puts them away on a Sunday.”