Ziploc phone hack sparks debate about kids and screen time
This is how to get kids to zip it during long car rides.
A TikToker who goes by @jeffandlaurenshow says the “best travel hack to keep the peace on a long road trip” requires a Ziploc bag and a smartphone.
Her 17-second clip, uploaded last month to the social media platform, shows a woman removing the driver’s headrest in a car, using scissors to pierce two holes into the side of a Ziploc bag where the headrest connects to the seat, and putting the headrest back in its place.
The woman presses play on a kid’s video on the phone and puts it into the bag, thus creating a hands-free screen for tots.
“Things I wish I knew as a first time mom,” the TikToker wrote in text over the video, which has delivered more than 50 million views.
The clip stirred a TikTok debate about giving kids too much screen time, with some insisting the hack is “ridiculous.”
“Oh yes, keep em addicted to those screens,” one commenter laughed.
“I’d rather have my kids watch something on tv than kick and scream and cry because they’re bored,” another argued.
“If they’re bored than engage with them they are your kids,” a TikToker retorted.
“Give them a book to read,” suggested another.
“Some kids can’t read yet you f—ing nut!” someone exclaimed.
“There are things called picture books,” a third deadpanned.
“Wow some serious battles in here on parenting,” one TikToker observed of the comments section.
“It’s a battle of idiots lol,” someone seconded.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends screen time limits for all children.
Those younger than 18 months should only be exposed to screens while video chatting with a person who is out of town.
Toddlers 18 to 24 months old should stick to educational programming, the academy says.
Screen time for children 2 to 5 should be limited to 1 hour per weekday and 3 hours on Saturday or Sunday.
And parents should talk with kids 6 and older to “encourage healthy habits and limit activities that include screens.”
Too much screen time has been linked to sleep, weight and mood problems and lower grades in school.
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