Online school. Virtual playdates. Video games. What does it mean for children that more and more of their world is now mediated through a screen? How to find the balance?
Limiting screen time for kids was a challenge before the pandemic. But now that virtual learning has become the new norm, parents are struggling to find a balance.
On how to balance screen time with other activities.
Anya Kamenetz (Author of “The Art Of Screen Time): “I always encourage parents to think about their day in terms of the balance that they’re striking. So I really do encourage parents to guard bedtime. I know that there’s a lot of bedtime drift happening and especially with older kids, tweens and teens. So guard that bedtime, keep the devices out of the bedroom, I think is worth making a hard and fast line. Obviously, we all need physical activity. We all need outdoor time. We all need stretch breaks, parents and children. So thinking about managing your day, and then can you get a screen-free meal in, at least once a day?
“You know, a lot of families are eating more meals together, but if we’re all on our devices, we’re missing that conversation time. So, you know, that’s something we really try to keep sacred in our house is, it could be five or ten minutes, honestly, but to have two kids and two parents sitting around the table having a conversation. So really, again, it’s not about policing minutes on device, but it is about what do you want to build into your day, and your rhythms and your balance.”
Above tips from Anya Kamenetz come in a timely manner where we as parents are struggling to limit our children’s screen time. So, let’s brainstorm some of the activities we can do away from the screen.
- Engaging children in other types of play or activities, not only with a tablet or television. Board games offer great opportunities to communicate, talk and joke as you play. Reading together is also a great bonding activity. When you read a book, you can point to pictures, ask questions and discuss the story’s message. All of these interactions are important for brain stimulation and development and will strengthen your bond with your child.
- Get creative. If your children still want to play on screens, encourage them to select activities that stimulate their brain, such as creating movies, drawing, working on photos creatively or designing an app or a game. There are many amazing creative pursuits they can do on a computer besides just homework, checking social media and watching YouTube!
- Make home routines educational. Encourage your kids to take breaks from watching television to engage in other activities, such as helping you cook, sorting and folding laundry, or playing a board game. You can turn everyday home routines into educational conversations about measurement, sorting, classifying shapes and counting.
- Take a pause from technology to talk. Have quality conversations with your family. Talk to your children about how they are feeling being away from school and their friends, or about their worries or fears regarding COVID-19.
- Rediscover the real world that exists beyond the pixels. Expose your children to new experiences. Take them to a museum, the zoo, or on a long walk in the park. Teach them rollerblading or archery, cut out and assemble paper models. Or sit with them to write a story together. The best learning takes place in interaction.
Is the perfect time to help our kids to develop self-regulation. And we can do it in two different ways. We can do it by setting boundaries and limiting their access. And we can also do it by helping them develop their own internal self-regulation, which is going to grow over time.