Author: Shenessa Barreto | September 23rd, 2021
Since televisions, computers and smartphones have entered our homes and workplaces, screen time has always been a battle. What is too much? The content seen – what’s appropriate? How to balance timings within a family. In recent history, due to the pandemic, the amount of time spent in front of screens has multiplied beyond measure. With online classes for kids and adults working from home, we are spending way too much time on electronic devices. Kids have a good excuse to use when parents try to limit their time on devices, be it for their classes, assignments or research. Ensuring that they can send continual messages and scroll social media under the disguise of study. But too much screen time can cause eye damage as well as adversely affect our posture. Social media often portrays a ‘golden life’ which in reality is unattainable for most of the population but causes a lot of stress for those who aspire to this faux life. Global obesity is on the rise, we are becoming more and more sedentary, barely needing to leave the house, let alone get essential exercise. We all need to be more mindful when it comes to screens.
Here are some tips that parents have tried and that have worked for them:
- Explain why excessive screen time is unhealthy.
- Rules apply to everyone in the family. Being a good role model is the best way to get your kids to follow rules.
- Start young, it gets set as a routine in their life.
- Prepare a screen schedule that includes time for online classes as well as time to do homework and assignments.
- No TV or at the very most 1 hour of TV on school days and 1 hour of video games on the weekend along with a family movie perhaps.
- Set aside time that you and your kids can spend together without gadgets. Play a board game, read a book or even just talk and catch up on the day.
- No phones during mealtimes! This applies to the whole family – whatever it is can wait for half an hour while you eat, talk and digest your food. Putting on something to watch to get a young child to eat is not a healthy habit to develop.
- No phones at night – especially when sleeping. Ideally, remove from the room.
- Encourage free time being spent playing outdoor sports, swimming, cycling a set exercise time – do a family walking or jogging challenge. Walk the dog, go to a park or nature spot.
- If you are stuck inside the do fun indoor activities like solving jigsaw puzzles, word searches, crossword puzzles, reading a book, knitting, crafts or play board games with your child.
- Parents should role model these same behaviours by only watching TV themselves once the kids are in bed and avoid using their phones around their children unless the phone is being used for work during working hours.
- Smartphones have a setting that can be used to set controls on your kids phones. On iOS devices, this is called Screen Usage. Android calls it Digital Wellbeing.
- Don’t be tempted to let screens become the parents of your child by using them as a babysitter, make the time spent with your child quality time by doing other activities together.
SHENESSA BARRETO
Psychologist