The “Power of Three”: Balancing Fun, Focus, and Screens This Summer Break

As the school year wraps up and the summer break begins, many parents and caregivers find themselves once again asking, “How do I stop my child from spending all summer glued to a screen?”

It’s a fair question, especially as digital devices have become central to how today’s youth communicate, learn, and entertain themselves. But before we jump into restricting tech, we need to understand how young people experience today’s onlife world.

While many adults still separate the “online” from the “offline,” youth today see no such divide. Philosopher Luciano Floridi coined the term onlife to describe this blended reality. For young people, digital and real-world experiences are interwoven, they’re not two separate spaces, but one integrated world.

That’s why we need a new approach, one that doesn’t fight this integration, but helps kids navigate it wisely and intentionally.

It’s Not About Screen Time, It’s About The Type Of Screen Activity!

Instead of obsessing over how many hours our kids are online, we should ask a more meaningful question,  “What are they doing with their screen time?”

Professor Sonia Livingstone, a leading researcher in youth digital engagement, suggests we focus less on how long kids are online and more on the quality and value of their digital activities. She recommends that if parents can answer “yes” to the following five questions, then their child is likely maintaining a healthy balance:

• Is my child physically healthy and sleeping enough?

• Is my child connecting socially with family and friends?

• Is my child achieving goals at school and at home?

• Is my child pursuing hobbies or interests, online or offline?

• Is my child having fun and learning while using digital media?

If your answers are “yes,” you’re likely on the right track.

Many parents and caregivers understandably compare their kids’ summers to their own childhoods that were filled with bikes, creeks, road trips, and tree forts. But the world has changed. The internet, smartphones, and social media didn’t exist in our youth. Today’s kids are the first generation growing up fully immersed in today’s onlife world.

So instead of trying to impose our past on their present, we need to help them build a balanced onlife routine, one that blends healthy digital habits with real-world experiences.

Enter: The White Hatter’s Power of Three

One of the most effective ways to create that balance is through a framework we call “The Power of Three.” It’s simple, memorable, and aligns well with how humans process choices (think: Goldilocks (too hot, too cold, just right), the Olympics (gold, silver, bronze), traffic lights (red, yellow, green)

We suggest parents categorize tech use into three distinct types of screen activity:

1. Social Use

Connecting with friends through text, social media, online gaming, or video sharing platforms like YouTube.

2. Physical/Active Use

Using tech to get moving, whether it’s through fitness games like Ring Fit Adventure, augmented reality games like Pokémon Go, or outdoor adventures like geocaching.

3. Creative/Educational Use

This includes learning to code, building a personal website, developing digital art, watching educational documentaries, or producing content like “how-to” videos.

By gamifying screen activity into these categories, parents and caregivers can shift the conversation from “restriction” to “intention”.

Recommended Daily Breakdown

Here’s one way to balance screen activity using the power of three:

• Creative/Educational: ~3 hours max

• Social: ~2 hours max

• Physical/Active: ~1 hour minimum

That totals about six hours of possible screen use on a “tech day”, with four hours focused on creating, learning, or being active, and only two hours for passive, social entertainment (what we call “digital bubble gumming”).

Keep in mind, these aren’t hard limits. You can adjust them based on your child’s needs and your family’s routines. The key is to keep creative and physical use prioritized over passive consumption.

This approach gives youth a framework that feels flexible, empowering, and realistic. It also gives parents a way to say “yes” to tech this summer, but in a way that supports development, not undermines it.

Just as important, it reserves time for offline activities, too. If your child has about 12 waking hours per day during the summer, six of those hours remain tech-free for:

• Family meals (we suggest keeping these device-free)

• Daily chores (to be completed before screen time starts)

• Outdoor activities, hobbies, or family outings

• Creative play, music, sports, or just relaxing without a screen

And yes, “digital sabbaticals” (a more positive term than “detox”) are strongly encouraged. Plan specific tech-free days or half-days, and involve your kids in choosing the activities. These breaks help reset their relationship with technology and reinforce that offline life is just as engaging.

No Tech in the Bedroom

One final tip: keep devices out of your child’s bedroom at night. This simple boundary protects sleep, prevents mindless scrolling, and reinforces that not all spaces need to be digital. Bedrooms should be restful, not another screen zone.

The goal this summer isn’t to eliminate technology. It’s to help your child build habits that balance their digital and physical worlds in a way that supports their growth.

So when your child asks, “Can I go on my phone?”, try saying this instead, “Sure, what kind of activity is it? Social, physical, or creative?”

Use the flexibility of the power of three as a guide. Let it open up conversations. Let it build trust. Let it shape a summer that embraces both digital opportunity and offline joy. Most importantly, starting having this conversation before the summer break begins, the time is now to start priming the pump!

Digital Food For Thought,

The White Hatter

Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech