Over the past few month’s, parents were forced to face a new normal as remote learning became a necessity.
St David’s Marist Inanda hosted a series of Parenting in Pandemic virtual talks on its Facebook Page which highlight a number of challenges facing parents during the national lockdown. In its latest talk on 10 July, parents were walked through the importance of screen time and helping young children regain their balance by education psychologist Amy Kerr.
“A combination of online learning and not being able to go out and see their friends, attend extra-curricular and other ‘normal’ events has resulted in children having significantly more time in front of screens,” she said.
Many activities which parents would normally take for granted are now also happening online. While there are some positive factors to this transition, such as the advancement in a child’s computer literacy skills, there are a number of corresponding challenges. “Many studies conducted have concluded that too much screen time is detrimental for children’s development. The negative impacts can be seen socially, emotionally, neurologically and physically,” added Kerr.
According to Kerr, these can be some of the negatives associated with too much screen time:
- Behavioural difficulties, difficulties sustaining attention
- Educational problems, performing poorly on academic tests
- Obesity- spending too much time in front of a screen and without any physical activities
- Sleep disturbances: the light from the screen can interfere with a child’s sleep cycle and lead to insomnia.
“Children are also great imitators, they watch and learn from our behaviour as well as what they are exposed to on screen,” she said. Parents are encouraged to allow screen time in moderation. “There is not a strict recommendation on the number of hours children should be allowed to be on screens, especially given the current circumstances, so you [parents] need to manage this in your own family.”
Healthy role modelling is also essential because just like everything parents do, children will mimic your media use. It is essential that you are a good role model to them. “Keeping model devices away from the dinner table, turn off the TV when it is not being watched and put your phones away when you are engaging with your children.”
Kerr noted that screens can often get in the way of a relationship between parents and children. “If parents constantly interrupt conversations with their children to keep checking text messages, children might feel that they are not important.”
The Internet can be a great place to hang out, not only can all sorts of information be found here but it is also a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. But sadly, the Internet can also be a very dangerous place to hang out.”
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