Parenting Challenge: How to Deal with Ever Multiplying Digital Screens #HuggiesLatino

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This is part of a sponsored promotion with Latina Mom Bloggers and Huggies.  However, all opinions expressed are my own.
A couple years back I wrote that I thought having multiple TVs in the house was a recipe for family discord.  I stated then that it is one of the worst things that my own parents did with my siblings and I because it didn’t foster unity, it helped us program ourselves out of having dinner together and it also enabled us to avoid compromise with each other.
Yes, this TV in the room thing can be deep.
Fast forward three years later and today I find myself battling my wife, kids and even myself about the addictive tablets and smartphones that are competing for our own attention.  Today’s devices are so powerful, pervasive and unfiltered that in many ways they are more capable of inflicting harm to families than the old TVs were. Naomi, our 16 month-old, doesn’t even want to let go of the iPad when she has it and will battle her older sister when she tries to take it away.
There is strong rationale for letting kids own these devices so believe me that I don’t think cold turkey removing these addictive machines from the children is the answer.  As evidenced by my 5-year-old Briani’s school, for example, tablets and other devices are mandated and REQUIRED to be owned to complete assignments.  It’s only going to get worse as they get more sophisticated.
It seems to me that the only thing to do with this parenting challenge is four-fold:  1. Engage with your kids kids, 2. Confiscate the devices when they are disruptive, and 3. monitor everything that your kids see and do on them, DAILY, whenever possible! And fourth, but not least, severely restrict game play on the devices.
The latter point is probably one of the most important things I’ve done because it prevents my children from idolizing their devices for the wrong reasons.  Now I’ve begun to research creative, fun apps that my kids can use to help make the device an ally and not an enemy of our modern digital home.

The digital age has brought about new challenges for today’s parents, so we don’t want to have to spend time worrying about leaky diapers. That’s why I like Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers with New SureFit Design that provide up to 12 hours of leakage protection. They also feature a unique flexible waistband for all-around fit so they stay on regardless of how active our little one is.

Huggies created a cool new series of Spanish-language webisodes featuring former Miss. Universe Zuleyka Rivera in which she shares how she manages her own parenting challenges with her son Sebastian. Yes, a former Miss. Universe can also have parenting challenges! You can check out the fourth episode here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwgfz0ZPVCw

But don’t just take my word, grab your own pack of Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers with New SureFit Design and Huggies Natural Care Wipes with New Triple Clean Layers and try them for yourself. You can also visit Huggies.com/tuprueba for more information on the new Huggies products or join in the conversation on Twitter at @Huggies and #HuggiesLatino.

How do you manage digital distractions in your household?
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