The Band-Aid Bulletin: Finding healthier balance with screens
The Stanwood-Camano School District posted this on its website on 2025-11-20 16:00:00.
November in the Northwest brings dark mornings, early sunsets, and plenty of reasons to cozy up indoors. Families gather after long days at work and school to unwind with kids, pets, and often, screens.
In some ways, that end-of-day routine looks the same as it did generations ago — but in others, it’s completely transformed by the presence of mobile devices and constant connectivity.
In the 1980s, a newsletter like this would have been printed on paper and sent home in a backpack. Now, like so much else, it’s read on a screen.
Students today spending more time in front of devices has prompted growing research into the effects of screen time on learning, attention, sleep, and mental health. The findings suggest that too much time on screens can take a toll — but the encouraging news is that balance can be restored.
Health professionals are reminding families that it’s never too late to rethink how technology fits into daily life. The goal isn’t to banish screens but to use them intentionally — for learning, connecting, and creating — while keeping space for life offline.
That means getting back to basics: spending more time outside in the daylight, playing, riding bikes, being silly, reading together, drawing, painting, making or listening to music, or even just gazing out the window and daydreaming. These simple, screen-free moments are powerful. They help build sharper minds, stronger relationships, and the kinds of memories that stick.
Tools for elementary-age kids with screen time
Tools for teens
Tools for parents
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Qustodio: Stanwood-Camano families now have free access to Qustodio, a digital safety and wellness tool that helps parents set screen time limits, pause internet access, schedule device “bedtimes,” and view daily reports. It also adds after-hours filtering on district Chromebooks to support safe and balanced tech use at home. Qustodio is private, COPPA-compliant, and fully supported by Qustodio — not managed by the district. Learn more and sign up here.
