{"id":258350,"date":"2023-04-25T19:43:58","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T17:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/kids-and-screen-time-an-expert-offers-advice-for-parents-and-teachers\/"},"modified":"2023-04-25T19:43:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T17:43:58","slug":"kids-and-screen-time-an-expert-offers-advice-for-parents-and-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/kids-and-screen-time-an-expert-offers-advice-for-parents-and-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids and screen time — an expert offers advice for parents and teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How much time did your child spend looking at a screen today?<\/p>\n

The answer likely depends on how old they are, what grade they\u2019re in at school and what rules you have in place at home about screen time. But the reality is that, for children and adolescents growing up as \u201cdigital natives<\/a>\u201d, it is almost impossible to imagine life without screens of some sort.<\/p>\n

Devices like cellphones, laptops and tablets have become ubiquitous as tools for entertainment and education in most parts of the world. This has led parents, guardians, teachers and researchers to wonder whether screens are good or bad for children. <\/p>\n

The World Health Organization recommends<\/a> that school-going children (five-17 years) limit their recreational screen time. The recommendation for two to four year-olds is not more than one hour of screen time per day (less is better); it suggests<\/a> that children younger than two should have no screen time. Research evidence<\/a> suggests that children and adolescents were already exceeding these recommendations, and that the COVID-19 pandemic only made this worse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t yet conclusive evidence about whether screen time is good or bad for children. But, based on my ongoing research into children\u2019s development \u2013 including the role of play, sleep, physical movement<\/a> and screen time<\/a> \u2013 my view is that there are benefits of educational screen time, but we don\u2019t know enough about the potential harms. <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there are several things parents and teachers can do. This includes basics such as being aware of how much time children are spending on screens and what their posture is like through, to more complex issues such as what each child\u2019s developmental weaknesses and strengths are. It also involves setting boundaries.<\/p>\n

None of this is easy to implement. However it doesn\u2019t mean that they cannot be a healthy goal worth working towards. It is never too late to start, but the earlier you do, the better.<\/p>\n

Covering the basics<\/h2>\n

First, it is essential for parents to be aware about how screen-based activities (educational and recreational) influence their child\u2019s development, as well as their behaviour. <\/p>\n

Secondly, remember that all children are different and will therefore respond differently to screen time. So understanding the child and their strengths and weaknesses is key. For example, if a child struggles with managing sensory input \u2013 like loud noises, bright lights or certain textures \u2013 it may be better for them to avoid recreational screen time.<\/p>\n

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Read more: Why screen time for babies, children and adolescents needs to be limited<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Thirdly, establish boundaries around screen time. This is key at home and at school. <\/p>\n

Fourth, keep tabs on how screen time is stopping children from doing other things that are developmentally beneficial. For example, in the home, a child who is learning mostly on screens at school could be encouraged to spend time after school playing outside, and doing activities that develop fine motor skills. Screen swiping and typing are poor substitutes for activities that stimulate these skills, like writing, drawing, colouring in, painting, and cutting.<\/p>\n

Fifth, in a school environment, are there other activities that provide children and adolescents opportunities to intentionally develop their social and emotional skills that are not getting as much attention when they are working alone on screens? <\/p>\n

Sixth, are screens set up in such a way that encourages good posture? <\/p>\n

Baby steps<\/h2>\n

Setting boundaries and striving for a healthy balance of educational and recreational screen time within the broader context of development may seem daunting. <\/p>\n

It requires thoughtfully reflecting on the wider impacts of the choices made around screens, and offering a range of opportunities that help to boost chlidren\u2019s chances of growing up to be healthy and well-adjusted adults.<\/p>\n

As much as possible, involve children and adolescents in conversations about why a healthy balance of screen time will benefit them. This can help them take ownership of their choices about their health and development \u2013 both in the present as well as their future health and well-being.<\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How much time did your child spend looking at a screen today? The answer likely depends on how old they are, what grade they\u2019re in at school and what rules you have in place at home about screen time. But the reality is that, for children and adolescents growing up as \u201cdigital natives\u201d, it is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-258350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/kids-and-screen-time-an-expert-offers-advice-for-parents-and-teachers.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}