Ways to enhance your kid’s screen time
One study says that a teenager’s average screen time is about 7 hours daily, and a preteen spends about 5 hours daily. That is a long time when we have only 24 hours a day. You can cling to some guidelines published by the American Academy of Paediatrics; for example, the recommendation is to avoid screen time at all, if possible, for kids under two years of age. They learn from direct caregiver directions, which is most important.
If you are going to do some screen time, make sure that you are present there with them, guiding them through it. The recommendation for screen time for pre-schoolers, like those who are 3 to 5 years of age, is an hour a day. Again, a lot of time can be spent with a parent or caregiver guiding them through it.
Something crucial for parents to take care of
The important thing is to try to decrease the time you use devices to calm or distract your child. Your child must learn the natural process, patience, and self-soothing mechanisms.
Things start getting messy or complicated with older children. There are no guidelines or rules that you have to follow; it is according to your will. But the essential thing is that as a parent, you have to make sure that you pay attention to your child and that they spend more or enough time on other activities rather than devices.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has created a practical website named AAP Media Plan, where you can set up the settings. You can mention your child’s age, and according to the age, they provide you with the recommended sleep time for your child. Then, they provide you with all the activities other than the screen time they do in a day. Experts in the nursing dissertation helped and suggested that this site be beneficial in their studies on pediatrics.
Now you can create the plan for your child, and once the settings are done, the limits are all set, cling to them.
We understand that things can differ from daily, depending on what is going on in your home or your plans for the day. For the most part, at least, cling to those guidelines or advice provided, and if there needs to be any change or adjustment, you can include your child in it.
It is what works for your family and your loved ones. So take care, keep a check on those close to you, and maintain social interactions with your family members. Try to figure out what is best for you and your family.
A guide on screen time for babies and toddlers
A newborn baby’s brain starts developing in the first two years of life. Babies and toddlers must discover their surroundings and look at sights, sounds, tastes, and textures. Talking and playing around with different people benefits kids by allowing them to experience and learn about the environment or the world surrounding them.
This is the reason why AAP created the website. As the world moves too fast, keeping kids away from all these devices around them, such as televisions, computers, tablets, Androids, and gaming consoles, is challenging.
We must face the fact that screens are everywhere; no matter where we travel or camp, technology has access to everything today. Your kids are among the billions of kids engaged in these devices. A parent has to decide whether to try distancing the kids from these devices or make it practical for them.
Productive ways
You can let 18-—to 24-month-old toddlers enjoy a little screen time with a caregiver or a parent beside them. Set one hour a day for kids ages 2 and 3, not more than that.
Now, good and productive screen time is when you and your kid are playing color games, shape games, and educational games, but lousy screen time will be when you make your kid sit in front of the television to watch your favorite TV show.
Advice on screen time
- Make good use of screen time.
- Fix some time for your family, have talks with your kids, and make them learn the lessons regarding the world and its good and bad things. Please do not leave them alone at any time to sit blankly in front of the screen; it can hurt them.
- Show them an example. Do it because kids learn more when they see you doing it.
- The rules you apply to screen time are like those for other things.
- Set a limit for everything that it should never exceed and talk about it.
- Stay with your kids while they are using devices, and keep socializing. This includes learning productive games and exciting activities, which will teach them more about good habits.
- Research good games before you present them to your kids. Apps and social media cannot be trusted nowadays. They claim to be educational but are not, so take care of that.
- Make a timetable on the colorful chart for non-screen time activities. Playtime is an integral part of a child’s early years. Plan family picnics in the parks and family lunch or dinner plans to distract kids more from screen time activities.
I hope the above methods help you schedule your kids’ screen time. I wish you luck!
