As you may or may not have realized by now, parenting in the 21st century is a lot different from the experience we might have had as children decades ago. In fact, nowadays there are all these new problems with which parents are faced as they give birth to digital natives, who seem to exit the womb with computer, tablet and smartphone know - how.

What’s a parent to do, when faced with a child who seems joined at the hip with their MAC, and how does one determine when screen time has been enough or worse too much? While there’s no argument that being a parent in this new age will require many adjustments to the parenting styles taught by our parents, all hope has not been lost. There’s a method to this parenting in the digital age madness and it starts with proper screen time management.

PB Blog1_Screentime.png — What is Screen Time?

In case you’ve never heard of the term before, simply put screen time refers to the amount of time you
spend using a device that has a screen such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Is There Such A Thing as Too Much Screen Time?

Here’s a question that has more than likely been on your mind since the moment you began reading.

Truth is, if the COVID 19 Pandemic has taught us anything it’s that technology is our friend and not our foe. Can you imagine being quarantined without regular communication with your friends and family to maintain your sanity, albeit on facetime rather than in person? Yea, we can’t either. Thankfully, however, despite not being overly enthused by the pandemic, at least we’ve got technology to get us through those, particularly lonely days.

So the question still remains, since everything is currently being done online, is there such a thing as too much screen time? In answer to this question, we must acknowledge that we aren’t living in normal times. Many people cling more to their tech devices now and of course to their screens because it is the only tool capable of providing them with any sense of normalcy.

As a result, though we are firm believers that everything especially screen time should be done in moderation when it comes to children, we believe that measurement of screen time in today’s world should be less about how many hours we spend viewing screens and more about the type of content we consume while viewing these screens.

Why Screen Time Content Matters?

When faced with no other option but to perform almost all of our daily activities such as attending school, work, or church by viewing a screen, creating strict schedules that determine our family’s hourly screen usage by day just won’t cut it. What really matters on the other hand is the type of content we spend hours a day on screen consuming.

You’ve probably heard the computer analogy “garbage in, garbage out” before, and this phrase holds true to our digital consumption. While spending all day behind a screen is never advised, it is equally important that the content we consume is of a high standard and replicates the kind of behaviors we would want to be emulating rather than the alternative.

Even more focus should be placed on quality content consumption when younger kids who are easily impacted by their environment and who are at a critical stage in their development are involved. Not only should you as parents work to ensure that the content your child views is age appropriate, however for kids aged 2 - 4 content viewed should contain more educational underpinnings instead of the regular entertainment gimmicks.

For help finding educational digital content for your young kids be sure to check out our Peakacademy Digital PreSchool

The Pros of Screen Time for Kids

Whether we like it or not, screens are here to stay. Lucky for us, however, their usage comes with many upsides in terms of what they can be used to do, especially today when the pandemic has forced us to limit face to face interaction.

A few advantages of having screen time include the following:

Screens provide a source of entertainment

While we may not be able to attend movie theatres due to gathering restrictions, thanks to our screens we can still enjoy a good family movie night, from the comforts of our home.

Screens provide a source of communication

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, experiencing this pandemic with no opportunity to connect with our friends and family in state or abroad would have made it a much different experience. Acknowledging this fact, we are even more grateful to live in a world where our screens come with different applications that we can use to communicate with one another.

Screens provide an avenue for community outreach

Having to resume regular life whilst still being in a pandemic has been difficult enough, but can you imagine having to do it without being able to attend book club meetings, church events, staff parties, and thanksgiving dinners? Lol, talk about adding fuel to the fire. Thankfully, however, these days our screens come with built-in meeting applications that allow us to meet and stay connected regardless of where in the world we are located.

Screens provide an avenue for obtaining vital information

Stay in the know while on the go should really be the motto for many of our tech devices because that is exactly what they allow us to do. With the simple touch of a button on our smartphone screens we are able to receive breaking news and hear news stories on a variety of topics.

Screens provide an avenue for continued learning and education

The advent of technology has significantly revolutionized the way we work and of course the way we learn. Screens have completely dismantled the belief system that learning and schooling must take place in person and face to face. With more schools turning to online learning as their primary mode of delivery and even preschools taking steps to create virtual classrooms, the education system has now become a mostly screen based one.

The Cons of Screen Time for Kids

Whilst there is inherently nothing wrong with being au fait with technology, constant unregulated and unfiltered use is a recipe for disaster. To ensure we exercise moderation in our screen usage, rules and guidelines must be put in place to manage the amount of time that is spent especially by children in this digital space.

That said, a few disadvantages of excessive screen time include:

Screens encourage poor time management

If there is one thing, we can all agree on, it’s that screens can be very addicting in nature. No matter what actions you are performing on your screen it really doesn’t take much to become deeply consumed in it, so much so that you lose track of time. If as adults we struggle to manage our own screen time usage, you can only imagine the struggle kids face in doing said when left to their own devices.

Screens limit face to face interaction and hinder social skills development

Before there were screens, there were only real people enjoying real life conversations. In recent years however, the popularity of screens has led to a break down in face to face interaction which has been replaced by communication on screen. The result? More people are finding it difficult to engage in everyday conversation when they no longer have their beloved screens to hide behind to facilitate their communication.

Screens can cause vision issues

More than just the ever-growing problem of declining time management and social skills, excessive screen usage can result in very damaging health effects, particularly to our eyes. Extended periods of screen time have been linked to symptoms of the computer vision syndrome, which often include eye strain, irritation and double vision.

Tips for Parents to Limit Screen Time for Kids

In a world where screens have become a pertinent part of everyday life, as parents the last thing you should be doing is trying to completely dissuade your child from using them. Instead the best way for you to manage your child’s screen usage, is to appear to not be managing it at all.

Children love the idea of having their own independence and the luxury of being able to do exactly what they want to do, when they want to do it, without the worry of pesky bossy parents breathing down their necks and telling them what to do. Considering this, your parenting strategy as it relates to child screen time management should be one in which you lay down the screen time law and your child is given some flexibility in deciding how to follow it.

For example, if you decide to allow your child one hour of screen time a day for entertainment purposes after which the device must be returned to you, then the likelihood that they would adhere to this agreement is heightened because you allowed them the freedom to decide when they can utilize their 1 hour of screen time entertainment.

For more useful parental resources you can subscribe to the Peake Academy Parent Advisor blog.

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