HeadsUp Rivertowns Update: November 2020

It truly feels like a lifetime ago that our HeadsUp Rivertowns committee, which was created to bring education, awareness and support in creating a screen smart community, was implementing “screen smart” initiatives throughout the school districts in the Rivertowns.
Even in the virtual world we are all largely living in right now, there are still opportunities for our children (and ourselves) to be Screen Smart:
Help your children with “smart screening”. 
​We know that in the current world our kids may need to sometimes use their phones while attending virtual school, in particular to photo-submit work. However, what they don’t need for school are apps like Instagram and Snapchat.  Did you know there is an easy (and free) way to schedule these apps to only work during non-school hours? Click here to learn how to set up “smart screens” for our children when they are learning at home. 
Protect our children's eyes and growing bodies.
With all of this extra unwanted screen time, Irvington resident and Optometrist, Dr. Laurence Lonky suggests the 20/20/20 rule to protect our children's (and our) eyes. Every 20 minutes you should look up at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Additionally, the computer should be 2 feet away. This article cites some good suggestions to protect our children's eyes.  
Irvington resident and Physical Therapist, Karen Gstalder-Dring has suggestions that will benefit our children's (and our) bodies considering the variety of the positioning, the chair/desk and the environment. Is the chair fitted to your child's size? What are the best ergonomics for the chair/computer screen on the desk? How can you have your child move a bit in their "home classroom? Please click here to read our latest blog from Karen.
Need something to watch as a family over the Thanksgiving Holiday? 
Try The Social Dilemma. Highly recommended!
We know this is a tough time for everyone, and we're all trying to keep our families safe, sane and healthy. We hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!