Parent: Got a minute?
Dr. B: Sure.
Parent: What are your thoughts on screen time for kids?
Dr. B: That’ll take more than a minute.
Parent: My kids spend too much time with their phones and iPads and laptops …
Dr. B: Yeah. I do too. How about you?
Parent: Well, that’s part of my worry. I see them doing something that I’m not sure I have total control over myself.
Dr. B: They can be very addicting.
Parent: Tell me about it. So, what do you recommend?
Dr. B: You ever eat at buffets?
Parent: Here we go again. Never a direct answer to my questions.
Dr. B: Trust me. Buffets will get us there.
Parent: Ok. Do you mean the fixed price buffets or the ala carte ones?
Dr. B: When you go to the a la carte buffet, what are the first items offered up for you to select?
Parent: Usually the deserts.
Dr. B: And at the fixed price buffets?
Parent: Probably lots of salad offerings.
Dr. B: Do you think you eat differently at these two different buffets?
Parent: You mean a different kind of too much?
Dr. B: Yeah.
Parent: I definitely reach for the desert when I start the line hungry and it’s right there to tempt me.
Dr. B: And at the fixed price buffet?
Parent: Well, sometimes my tray is full by the time I get to the deserts.
Dr. B: Filled with foods you’ll enjoy?
Parent: Absolutely.
Dr. B: So, electronics are kind of like cheesecake.
Parent: Hard to resist.
Dr. B: But you won’t miss it if you have other enjoyable foods?
Parent: Yeah. I enjoy carrots and dip but if it is sitting next to the cheesecake …
Dr. B: You’re going to choose the cheesecake … as would I.
Parent: So how do I limit the cheesecake? I mean electronics.
Dr. B: Well, how do you limit your cheesecake craving?
Parent: I tell myself that after twenty minutes, if I am still hungry, I can go back up and order the cheesecake.
Dr. B: Does that work?
Parent: Works better than putting it on my tray at the beginning.
Dr. B: One of the great costs of too much screen time is what got displaced. So, find a way to make sure your kids have access to …
Parent: Plenty of carrots and dip before breaking out the cheesecake?
Dr. B: Now who’s overdoing it with the metaphors?
