Pause or Play? Effective Tips To Manage Screen Time For Kids
This generation’s children and adolescents are bombarded with digital technology. They grew up in an entirely different landscape of screens and computerized surroundings. It is easy for the children of today to get immersed in this kind of environment, but in Australia, the recommended screen time per children per day is only two hours. Kids below two years old are not allowed any screen time at all.
That is why it is a challenge for parents today to resist putting gadgets in charge of babysitting children. Managing screen time for kids is indeed challenging – but it is possible and is eventually rewarding for both parents and kids. A healthy and wholesome digital media diet means balancing three things: Making sure they are consuming age-appropriate content, knowing what your kids do, and checking how long they do their activities. How do you do it?
On managing children’s content
One of the most important aspects of screen time management is to make sure that kids are watching age-appropriate programs.
The most common gadgets used by toddlers are mobile phones, tablets, and television. These devices are usually used to either play games or watch videos from the world wide web. Youtube is one of the most frequent go-to places on the internet for young ones. The good thing is, Youtube has a “Restricted Mode” so that you can filter potentially adult content. If you have a Google account, Youtube Parental Controls Mode is even easier to activate.
Smart televisions usually have parental controls too. In addition, if you are an Android phone user, you can use the Google Family Link app so that you can set screen time rules from your own mobile device to let the children safely navigate, learn, and enjoy the online world.
On managing children’s activities
In order to lessen the dependence on recreational screen time, it is necessary for parents to prepare other activities besides those involving gadget-related ones.
You can introduce kids in games involving physical activity or allowing new skill formation. From taking simple walks in the neighborhood to baking together, there are plenty of activities that can stimulate a child’s curiosity and imagination. Want to make it even more fun? Try getting a jumping castle hire Brisbane service even just for one day. Better yet, join your children for a morning of water gun battle or bedtime book reading.
On managing children’s time
In order to fully regulate your kid’s screen time, you must set the rules and be a role model in following them.
Start with putting up a schedule for their gadget use. You can start by giving the children one hour of screen time in the morning or in the afternoon. Or you can give the rule that they can only play with their mobile phones after they finished their home work. Another thing you can do is to establish gadget-free zones. And yes, the rule includes parents too. If mobile phones and handheld devices are prohibited in the dining table, that means no texting mom and dad!
Parents have the responsibility to pause or play children’s screen time. And if you are still struggling to find other activities to get your child’s attention, it is still not too late to call a jumping castle hire Brisbane service for starters. You CAN manage your little ones’ screen time!
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