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Kids now learn, relax and socialise using screens. With many states in lockdown, outdoor activities are off-limits. Should this new ‘norm’ change how parents should think about screen-time rules?
My answer to this is yes. We need to shift thinking. Instead of screen time think about screen impact.
Here are 5 ways we can think about screen impact.
· If your child is connecting online with school friends they don’t get to see, that is probably having a good impact on them.
· If they are watching video after video day after day, that’s not going to have a good impact on them socially, physically, from a mental health perspective. Balance is needed there.
· Screen fatigue is very real, and we can feel wiped out from too much use of it. It can have a negative impact on children’s wellbeing. So balance this out and make sure kids (and yourself) take lots of breaks away from the screen. Go outside breath of fresh air. It works wonders.
· It’s very easy to retreat into our own private online worlds, this can negatively impact the family unit. So, balance this with a physical, family activity. A bushwalk, making a veggie patch at home, family art-craft session. Anything that is physical and fun.
· Constant digital distraction is a problem. Being able to concentrate when online is important especially for online learning. Balance out distractibility with time to focus. Use apps to pause social media notifications, if your child has multiple devices nominate one device for school and the other for entertainment. When online learning starts, the other goes gets put away in another room.
