Gadgets have now become an omnipresent aspect that revolves our lives and our kids’ lives too. Screens are almost everywhere we look. We use them for keeping abreast about the current news, to stay in touch with friends and family, shopping, playing games, and kids now also use them in schools with the transition to virtual education. All of this may leave us speculating how much screen time is too much for our kids.
In today’s tech-savvy world, although it’s significant to introduce our kids to these fun and new technologies, parents need to ensure that the child is not becoming reliant on screens to uphold their behaviour. While the unlimited time spent on electronics, that has ballooned all the more as a result of the pandemic, may keep your child engaged, you don't want them to have too much exposure to screen time. Excessive technological dependency can impact a child’s cognitive development. That said, setting limits on screen time for kids isn't always easy in today's screen-filled world. Below mentioned are resourceful yet fun tips that parents can make note of while deciding how much screen time is reasonable for their kids:
Let your kids get dirty: One of the foremost ways to curtailing screen time is to let your kids move outdoors to connect with mother nature. Let your child get in close contact with the surroundings. Allow them to enjoy putting their hands and feet in water, bask in the sun, dig in the dirt, play in the mud, make mud pies, pick up worms from ponds and roll on the ground.
Encourage pretend play: Pretend play is an exceptional way to boost your child’s mental and overall development. Get your children off their screens and into their own worlds. When kids pretend they are doctors, pirates or detectives or generate their own characters and stories with their dolls and figurines, they are actually making use of their creativity, inspiring their minds and firing up their imaginations.
Make A Special ‘Play Box’: The chief reason behind it being challenging to get kids away from screens is because they feel there is nothing as entertaining off it. One way to get the child off devices while ensuring they don’t miss out on the fun is by making a ‘Play Box!’ Let your children pick from their preferred toys and games and put them into the ‘Play Box.’ By doing this, parents can stimulate the child’s mind by quizzing them to identify their favourite toys. Use this tip to entice kids, thus getting them away from their screens.
Inculcate in kids a reading or storytelling habit: Storytelling is an extraordinary alternative for screen time. Children tend to gain a great deal from books. Parents can aid children in picking books that are of interest to him/her and must set a daily time for reading to your child. This will not just encourage your child to become a life-long reader, but will also positively kindle their reasoning and cognitive abilities. Moreover, reading together is a helpful bonding activity that facilitates in language building, imagination and in increasing understanding of various concepts and emotions.
Spending quality time with child: Family time has a noteworthy impact on screen time as well as on the child’s mind. Spending quality time by going for walks, short trips, playing brain-boosting games like sand pendulum, hopping number line, pictionary and simple word games, provide an opportunity to communicate with your child. There is nothing better to divert your child than getting into an engaging conversation with them.
It is impossible to totally eliminate children’s interaction with gadgets in a single day. The above mentioned ways in which screen time can be converted into healthier play time will surely lend a helping hand in making them independent thinkers and simultaneously aid their emotional development.(This article has been authored by Shobhit Singh, Director, Stone Sapphire India Private Limited.)
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