Ask the school if there is a vision and mission statement or an action plan for parent engagement.

Talk with teachers and staff to suggest simple changes that can make the school a more pleasant and welcoming place for parents.

Ask whether your child’s school or school district provides - or could offer - programs or classes to help you become more involved in your child’s academic and school life.

Read school newsletters, attend parent-teacher-student conferences, and check out the school’s website to learn what is going on at the school, and encourage your child to participate.

Meet regularly with your child’s teachers to discuss his or her grades, behavior, and accomplishes.

Offer to share important aspects of your culture with your child’s class.

If your first language is not English, ask for materials that are translated into the language you speak at home, and ask for interpreters to help you at school events.

As your schedule allows, help in your child’s classroom, attend after-school events, or participate in a school committee, such as a health team or parent organization.

Ask the school if you can help with lunch-time walks, weekend games, or after-school exercise programs in dance, cheerleading, karate, aerobics, yoga, or other activities.

Involve your child in cooking meals, shopping for healthy foods, and reading labels on over-the-counter medicines.

Ask your child to share with you health and safety behaviors learned in school.

Ask to be involved in parent organizations - such as the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) or Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), school health councils, or school action teams - to help improve the health and well-being of students.

Learn whether dental services, health screenings, childcare, or health promotion programs are offered in school.

If health services or programs are not supported by the school, ask your child’s school or the school district to offer them.

No screen time outside of video chatting with family.

Little to no screen time recommended

This is a critical development period for them, so encourage as much physical & creative interaction with people as possible.

If they do get screen time, co-watch high-quality educational content with them to help them understand what they are seeing, and limit total exposure to under one hour.

Up to 1 hour per day

Plan TV-time in advance - resist the temptations to use screens as a calming or distracting device.

Children at this age have mindful interaction with characters, so help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.

Many types of screen media content have print or other versions - try finding books or toys that can enable your child to interact with their favorite characters off-screen.

1 - 1.5 hours per day

Place consistent limits on time spent using media, and the types of media being consumed

Since they are now entering school, make sure screens don’t become a habit before homework gets completed.

While developing tech skills is important, try to aim for a balance of creative and laid-back time.

As they grow, parents can gradually give kids more control and choice in how they manage their time.

Make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.

Up to 2 hours per day

At this age, children can understand the concept of balance. It is up to parents to help them see how screen time fits into their schedule.

If you find your child getting really into a certain video game for a week or two, gently try to help them understand the benefits of moderation.

Help your children understand that recognizing when we are spending too much time doing any one thing is a valuable life skill.