Screen Time
What can you, as parents, do about it?
Introducing...
Screen time is basically how much time is spent on technology with screens.
This can either be for entertainment or educational purposes, meaning screen time is both beneficial and potentially hazardous.
Different types of screens are:
- TVs
- Computers
- Laptops
- Portable DVD players
- Tablets
- Phones
For Your Information
- Child development experts recommend that children between the ages of 2-5, spend no more than an hour of screen time each day.
- A report released by an American media company, shows that 38% of children under the age of 2, are capable of using a smartphone or tablet.
- The report also showed that the daily use of this technology is rising, almost doubling.
Yay or Nay?
Positives
- It is used for educational purposes and so can broaden their knowledge and skills
- Enables interaction with different people they might not be able to do so in real life, e.g. overseas
- Prepares them with information and skills that may help them in future school years.
Negatives
- Reduces amount of daily physical activity and therefore creates health problems
- Too much can create bad habits for future
- Exposes them to advertising or bad influences that will negatively affect their behavior
Sunrise - Phone use by kids
Majority of screen time recommendations have been implemented to accommodate young children's, especially toddlers' developing brain. Over-exposure to screens will affect their early development and create problems for them later on in life.
These recommendations are also to prevent any habits from forming, for if habits did form they would be very hard to break out of later on.
Stick to the Status Quo
Although there are recommendations and parents are aware that too much screen time is bad, they fail to remember. Sometimes, the parents are occupied with work or other family that they don't have the time to cater to younger children. These leads to them bestowing technology like phones or tablets upon them to keep them occupied.
This then becomes a regular thing, so much so that when the parent is available to the child, all they want is the screens they've grown a liking to.
Strategies to help overcome this are:
- prioritise your day so you have time to spend with your children
- provide other options to keep them occupied while you sort out your business. Some activities can be drawing, reading or playing in the yard, etc.
- plan times where they are allowed to use tablets or phones and enforce these
- lead by example; if they see you using technology unnecessarily, they will want to use it too