Screen Time for Kids
Kids of today’s generation are accustomed to spending long hours in front of digital screens of Mobile Phones, Tablets, Ipads, and TVs. As much as technology advances and provides us with useful solutions, it is up to us to decide how we utilize the same.
For example, many devices come with parental controls. This is a good and easy measure to control overall screen time. However, this may not be a reliable solution. Kids of today’s generation are smart and they find workarounds so that they get to spend more time using digital gadgets.
Kids typically make use of screens for the following reasons:
- To watch entertainment videos
- To watch educational videos
- To play games
- To browse the internet
If the parents are working, then an easy way to distract kids is to give them a device and let them play on it. But screen time for kids must be monitored for a multitude of reasons. Excessive screen time has adverse effects on their health. Some of them are listed below:
Obesity: Kids can get easily consumed by the content they browse on the internet and they may not realize how time flies while they use the devices. As a result, they avoid basic activities and eventually get addicted. This is commonly seen in older kids. As a result of this, kids tend to eat a lot more and sit in one place instead of indulging in physical activities. This makes them lazy and overweight with time, which could have serious consequences on their health.
Behavioral Problems: Kids who indulge in playing games excessively during the day show signs of behavioral changes. They start becoming agitated and frustrated when someone asks them to stop playing the game because they are so consumed by the game which leads to addiction. Kids who spend 2 hours or more in a day playing video games or watching television on the screens have been seen to have emotional, and attention issues as well.
Sleep pattern: The sleep cycle of children can be severely disrupted with increased screen time. An abrupt sleep schedule will increase stress levels and weariness in the long run.
FOMO:Kids who indulge in games are seen to experience Fear Of Missing Out syndrome. They are so addicted that they create a false reality and spend maximum time doing the same activity on their digital gadgets. It is very important that parents monitor screen time for kids to prevent any future issues.
Academic performance: While kids are so involved in screens, they spend even lesser time on their studies. This in turn, directly affects their grades. Parents need to ensure that they keep a track of how much time their kids spend in front of screens.
Parents can keep a track of screen time by following the below measures:
- For kids who have access to the internet, it is very important that parents keep a track of what the kid is browsing for. Parental controls are available online to prevent access to explicit or vulgar information.
- Following a no-device day for kids will help the kids disconnect from screens.
- Ensure that you do not eat in front of screens. Parents must engage in healthy conversations with their children. Kids can easily get distracted by watching TV and they don’t eat properly as a result.
- For young kids, preferably watch whatever the kids are watching along with them. Accordingly, limit the usage, if this becomes a habit, they will automatically learn self-control.
- Encourage kids to play outside, socialize with friends, and sleep on time as well. These 3 activities are extremely important for growing kids.
Even if a kid consumes useful information online, there are a lot of distractions and they do not have self-control. It is important for parents to keep a track of screen time. Following a no-device day for kids will be super effective simply because the kids will engage in other activities which get their creative juices flowing.