Screen Time and Summer

Maybe it’s over Minecraft.

Maybe it’s a TikTok spiral that ate the whole afternoon.

Maybe it’s the silence behind a closed bedroom door, where your son has been for hours and you’re not entirely sure what he’s doing in there – only that he seems less like himself lately.

At Cherokee Creek Boys School (CCBS), nestled in the mountains of South Carolina, we work every day with boys ages 10 – 15 who are navigating exactly this kind of struggle … academic setbacks, social disconnection, anxiety, depression, anger and yes, technology overuse that has quietly (or not so quietly) taken over.

We wanted to share something that might help right now, today, before things escalate further … a thoughtful, research-based article from the Child Mind Institute called Screen Time and Summer: Strategies for making a plan that works for both you and your kids.

It’s written by Dr. Dave Anderson, a psychologist who serves as Vice President of Public Engagement and Education at the Child Mind Institute and works within their ADHD and Behavior Disorders Center.

Dr. Anderson has spent his career helping families make sense of complicated, emotionally-charged parenting questions and this piece is a wonderful example of his ability to turn research into something genuinely usable for a tired, worried parent.

Why Summer Makes Everything Harder

School structure disappears in June. Suddenly there’s no bell schedule, no homework deadline, no built-in reason to put the phone down.

For many families, unstructured summer days quietly turn into screen-saturated ones and what started as “just some gaming” becomes a daily standoff.

Dr. Anderson’s approach isn’t about fear or punishment – it’s about building a plan around four simple questions:

What are your risks?
What supports your child’s wellness?
What do you actually value for your family this summer?
And what’s the practical, doable plan that gets you there?

What Are the Risks, Really?

One of the most reassuring things about Dr. Anderson’s article is how it moves parents away from panic and toward clarity.

He points to what’s sometimes called the “Goldilocks hypothesis” – the idea that moderate screen use tends to be healthier than either extreme, none at all or hours upon hours.

The real danger isn’t necessarily the content itself; it’s when screen time crowds out the things boys need most: exercise, face-to-face connection, sleep and unstructured play.

He also draws an important distinction that many parents haven’t considered: where and with whom a child is using screens matters enormously.

A boy watching a show in the living room is a very different situation than a boy alone in his room for hours, especially once you factor in video game chat functions.

Many popular games have built-in messaging systems that can expose kids to strangers, cyberbullying or content parents never intended for them to see.

Teaching boys about privacy settings, safe connections and how to speak up if something feels wrong isn’t optional anymore – it’s essential.

For boys who already carry anxiety, ADHD or depression, Dr. Anderson notes that these risks are amplified.

• A boy prone to anxious thinking may gravitate toward content that feeds his worry rather than easing it.
• A boy with ADHD may struggle more than his peers to self-regulate screen use without support.

This is a piece of the puzzle so many families we work with at CCBS already recognize – technology overuse rarely exists in isolation.

It’s often tangled up with anxiety, isolation, low self-esteem or a boy quietly using screens to escape feelings he doesn’t yet have the tools to manage.

Promoting Wellness – Not Just Restriction

Rather than framing summer as a battle to control, Dr. Anderson reframes it around wellness. Two habits stand out.

Prioritize Movement

With physical activity declining among youth nationally, summer is a genuine opportunity to reverse the trend – daily outdoor time, walks, sports or simply unstructured play before screens even enter the conversation.

Getting Clear on Your Values

Perhaps the most powerful part of the article is its invitation for parents to reflect. What do you actually want this summer to look like for your son?

Exploration?
Creativity?
A little boredom, even … since boredom often sparks imagination?
More connection with family and friends?

Dr. Anderson encourages parents to choose just one or two priorities rather than trying to fix everything at once – and to approach the process with self-compassion instead of guilt.

Building a Practical Plan

Once you know your risks … your wellness goals and your values … the plan almost builds itself.

Decide together what’s okay, where and when. Reduce the daily power struggles by setting the boundaries once, clearly, rather than renegotiating every afternoon.

And then – this is the hopeful part – you can actually let your son enjoy his screen time within those boundaries, without the guilt or dread that so often accompanies it.

We’re grateful to Dr. Anderson and the Child Mind Institute for offering families such a clear-eyed, compassionate framework.

If your son’s screen habits have you worried this summer, his full article is well worth the read, and it’s a great first step toward a calmer household.

When a Plan at Home Isn’t Enough

For many families, the strategies above are exactly what’s needed.

But for some boys, technology use has moved beyond a “make a plan” problem into something deeper – a pattern of isolation, escalating conflict, declining grades or a boy who seems to be disappearing into a screen because real life has become too hard to face.

If that sounds familiar, please know there is still hope … and there is help.

A Place Where Boys Can Be Boys

At Cherokee Creek Boys School, we help boys ages 10 – 15 (grades 5 – 10) rediscover confidence, purpose and joy.

Set on a beautiful campus in the mountains of South Carolina, CCBS offers a powerful combination of academics, therapy, character development, social interaction and outdoor adventure.

We work with boys facing academic challenges, social struggles, ADHD, depression, anxiety, anger management issues, emotional and behavioral difficulties and – often at the center of it all – issues around technology use.

We see the potential in every boy who comes to us and our campus is designed to give him something screens can’t: fresh mountain air, real relationships, physical challenge and the space to simply be a kid again.

Our Approach to Technology Use and Overuse

On our Technology Use, Overuse and Addiction page, we’re upfront about how seriously we take this issue. Students at CCBS have limited access to technology while on campus, which creates room for something many of our boys haven’t experienced in a long time: sustained, in-person connection with peers, staff and family, along with real time outdoors.

Every student participates in a digital citizenship curriculum focused on healthy, safe technology habits.

And because we know lasting change happens at home, not just on campus, we also offer family workshops and presentations on tech usage. Our goal isn’t to hand parents a rulebook – it’s to help each family build guidelines and practices that actually fit their life, practiced together during campus visits so there’s a real plan in place by the time a student returns home.

It Takes a Family

Their recommended strategies echo much of what we practice at CCBS – setting clear screen time limits, modeling healthy technology use as parents, protecting device-free zones like bedrooms and mealtimes, encouraging outdoor activity and keeping communication open so kids feel safe talking about their digital experiences rather than hiding them.

Technology, they note, works best when it complements family life instead of replacing it.

Meeting Boys Where They Are

We explored this idea further in a recent CCBS blog post, Technology and Teens: When Screens Become a Substitute.

One of the central ideas is one we hold close: the boys who come to us are not “bad kids.” They’re good boys facing real challenges, often arriving after months (or years) of strained relationships and rising frustration at home.

Rather than approaching technology overuse with punishment or fear, our philosophy is built on balance, structure and skill-building. As Cynthia Crossley, co-founder of Habyts, says in that post, it’s not just about limiting screen time – it’s about teaching kids to build good habits in real life, too.

On our campus, that looks like boys practicing conversation, working through conflict in a safe setting and rebuilding the confidence that often erodes when screens become a stand-in for connection. As one of our clinicians put it …

Just as importantly, we partner closely with families throughout the process, helping parents understand technology’s role at home, build boundaries that actually stick and rebuild trust and communication that may have frayed. Lasting change doesn’t come from restriction alone – it comes from understanding, consistency and care.

A Hopeful Path Forward

The digital world isn’t going anywhere and that’s okay.

The goal was never to eliminate technology from your son’s life forever – it’s to help him build a healthier relationship with it, one rooted in real connection, mountain air and the kind of growth that happens when a boy is given the structure and support to rediscover who he is.

If you’re searching for answers tonight because you’re worried about your son, take a breath.

Start with Dr. Anderson’s practical, values-based plan this summer.

And if you find that your family needs more support than a summer plan alone can provide, know that Cherokee Creek Boys School is here – not as a quick fix, but as a caring, experienced partner ready to help your son find his way back to himself.

If you want to learn more about CCBS, please give us a call.