Games for your child + a Playbook for you

Sleep & screens

A steady bedtime

Children of this age are advised to get 9–12 hours of sleep. A bedtime that stays roughly the same makes that easier to reach.

Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, recommended sleep for children and teens (2016)

This week

1. Pick a bedtime and wake time together.
2. Keep both within about an hour, weekends too.
3. Start a 20-minute wind-down at the same time each night.

Offline together: Make a bedtime routine poster together with drawings for each step.

Sleep & screens

Screens-down hour

A simple family rule about screens before bed removes the nightly negotiation.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, Family Media Plan

This week

1. Choose a time when screens go down for everyone, grown-ups included.
2. Put a gentle alarm on one shared device as the signal.
3. Swap in something calm: a book, music, a bath or a chat.

Offline together: Try a 'lights low' evening: lamps only, a card game, then bed.

Study space & routine

One study spot

A fixed spot with the right things ready means less hunting and fewer reasons to drift away.

This week

1. Choose one spot together — kitchen table counts.
2. Stock a small box: pencils, ruler, eraser, paper, water bottle.
3. Keep phones and tablets out of reach during study time.

Offline together: Decorate the study box together and label what lives in it.

Study space & routine

An after-school rhythm

A predictable order — snack, move, homework, free time — takes daily decisions off the table.

This week

1. Write the order on a card with your child.
2. Follow the same order for five school days.
3. On Friday, ask what to keep and what to change.

Offline together: Take photos of each step and stick them on the fridge as a picture timetable.

Homework start

Just the first five minutes

Starting is often the hardest part. An if–then plan ("when I sit down, I'll do the first question") makes starting more automatic.

Source: Gollwitzer, if–then plans (1999)

This week

1. Agree a start cue: "When the snack's done, I open my book."
2. Set a five-minute timer — they only promise five minutes.
3. When it rings, they choose: stop or keep going.

Offline together: Play 'beat the timer' with a chore — tidy one shelf in five minutes together.

Homework start

Chunk it down

A big task feels lighter as a short list of small, clear steps.

This week

1. Ask your child to break tonight's work into three to five small steps.
2. Tick each step off on paper as it's done.
3. Take a two-minute stretch between chunks.

Offline together: Break a family job (making dinner, packing for a trip) into steps and tick them off together.

Homework start

Quiet company

Many children settle more easily with a calm grown-up nearby doing their own quiet task.

This week

1. Sit nearby with your own reading or paperwork.
2. Hold questions until the end of a chunk unless they're stuck.
3. Notice out loud when they kept going: "You stuck with that one."

Offline together: Have a 'quiet hour' where everyone works on their own thing side by side.

Movement & outdoor play

Move before homework

Children and teens aged 6–17 are advised to get about 60 minutes of activity a day. A burst before homework is an easy way to fit some in.

Source: CDC, physical activity for children and teens aged 6–17

This week

1. Put 15 minutes of movement right after school.
2. Let your child pick: scooter, ball, dance, a walk.
3. Then start homework — no screens in between.

Offline together: A family walk after dinner with a 'spot five things' challenge.

Movement & outdoor play

An outdoor hour each weekend

Time outside gives a break from close-up screens and books, and it's simply fun.

This week

1. Choose a weekend slot for an hour outside.
2. Rotate who picks the place: park, garden, field.
3. Leave devices in a bag for that hour.

Offline together: Build a stick-and-stone obstacle course in the park and time each other.

Family games without screens

Card game night

Card and board games ask everyone to wait their turn, remember rules and follow the play — and they're time together.

This week

1. Pick one evening this week for a 20-minute game.
2. Let your child teach a game they know.
3. Keep score lightly — celebrate good moves, not just winners.

Offline together: Snap, Uno or Go Fish for younger ones; Spot It, Set or a strategy game for older ones.

Family games without screens

The memory tray

A simple remembering game that needs nothing but things from around the house.

This week

1. Put 8–12 objects on a tray and look for one minute.
2. Cover it, remove one object, and guess what's missing.
3. Take turns being the one who hides.

Offline together: Play the memory tray after dinner — winner picks tomorrow's dessert.

Conversations & praise

Praise the process

Praise aimed at effort and strategy, rather than being 'clever', is linked with children sticking with hard tasks.

Source: Mueller & Dweck, praise for effort vs. ability (1998)

This week

1. Swap "you're so smart" for "you tried a new way".
2. Name one specific thing they did: "you checked your work".
3. Praise the practice streak, not the score.

Offline together: At dinner, everyone shares one thing they kept trying at today.

Phone & device rules

A family media plan

Agreeing screen rules ahead of time, as a family, avoids daily arguments about 'five more minutes'.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, Family Media Plan

This week

1. Agree when screens are fine and when they're off (meals, homework, bedtime).
2. Write the rules down where everyone can see them.
3. Use a timer as the referee, not your voice.

Offline together: Make a 'screen-free zones' sign together for the dinner table.

Reading together

Ten minutes of reading together

Reading aloud together is widely recommended by children's doctors, and it's time side by side.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, literacy promotion (2014)

This week

1. Pick a time — after dinner or in bed.
2. Let your child choose the book, any book.
3. Stop and ask "what do you think happens next?"

Offline together: Take turns reading pages and do the character voices.

Calm-down routines

The calm-down corner

A small, predictable place to reset helps children come back to a task on their own.

This week

1. Choose a cosy spot together — a cushion, a blanket.
2. Call it a recharge spot, never a punishment.
3. Model it yourself: "I need two quiet minutes."

Offline together: Fill a calm box together: a stress ball, a favourite book, crayons.

Calm-down routines

Four-count breathing

A short breathing routine is a simple, portable way to pause before a hard task.

This week

1. Practise together: breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4.
2. Do three rounds before homework or a test.
3. Let your child lead it once this week.

Offline together: Draw a square and trace it with a finger while breathing round it together.

Exam weeks

Test-week calm

Younger children pick up on grown-ups' worries. A calm, normal week helps them walk in steady.

This week

1. Keep the usual bedtime and breakfast in test week.
2. Do one short practice together, then stop.
3. On the morning, say "do your best — I'm proud of your effort".

Offline together: Plan something fun after the test that doesn't depend on the result.