Let's say you received a flyer for a new summer day camp in the mail that contained the following information:

"We take your kids and keep them inside all day long. We do not allow them to move around much. They will spend their day in front of screens, the TV screen, the computer screen, and the video game screen. We like to call it Screen Time. Instead of three meals a day, we feed them all day long with junk food to keep them from being hungry for meals. Our camp is only $250 a day, please send a check for the whole week."

Would you send your kid to this camp? Of course not! What parent in their right mind would?

So why do we do it?

So why do we let our kids do this everyday?

If you will indulge a 47 year old guy just one little "when I was young rant" here goes:

When I was a kid, they had to drag me inside for dinner or bedtime.

Many people my age tell me the same thing.

Most of these things do not happen all at once, they just sort of creep up on you.

What to do

Screen time is not necessarily a bad thing. It's when screen time is the only thing that it becomes a bad thing.

A strategy that has worked in our family and in the families with whom I counsel and coach is this:

For every hour that a kid spends in front of a screen, the kid has to spend an hour outside having fun.

Simple, powerful, it works. Now go use this stuff!

Visit http://www.ParentingYourTeenager.com for tips and tools for thriving during the teen years. For regular weekly tips you can subscribe to our f-ree Parenting Your Teenager Newsletter. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 5 day e-program on The Top 5 Things to Never Say to Your Teenager from parenting coach and expert Jeff Herring.