Teacher Warns Parents: 4 Places Children Should Never Use Screens

A veteran fourth-grade teacher is sounding the alarm on children’s screen addiction, calling it one of the biggest problems she has seen in her 19 years of teaching. She warns that many students experience withdrawal-like symptoms at school, a reality backed by research showing that screens are engineered to be as addictive as substances.

While Cristy doesn’t advocate for banning screens altogether, she insists there are four places where children should never use them:

🔹 Restaurants: Screens rob children of crucial social interaction with family and prevent them from learning how to behave in public. She urges parents to teach children how to be bored and engage in real conversations.

🔹 Grocery Stores: Instead of handing over a device, parents should use this time to teach curiosity, identify foods, and explain shopping choices which are valuable developmental experiences.

🔹 In the Car: Unless it’s a long trip, children don’t need screens in the car. Instead, parents can spark curiosity by talking about traffic rules, pointing out landmarks, and having meaningful conversations.

🔹 In the Stroller: Screens at the park or on walks block natural learning. Children should be observing, asking questions, and engaging with their environment rather than glued to a device.

Cristy urges parents to rethink their screen habits: “At the rate they’re going, children aren’t learning how to be social, how to be bored, or how to problem-solve.” The question parents must ask: At what cost?