HOW TO BALANCE SCREEN TIME DURING THE PANDEMIC?

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With the second wave encompassing our lives, the pandemic seems far from over. This has caused a jump in our daily screen time as social distancing limits our ability to physically interact and connect with people.

For many parents, screen time is a touchy subject even in the best of times. Now, with parents and kids holed up together 24/7 and everything from school to birthday parties taking place online, it’s even harder to know how to put limits on your child’s screen time.

The screen time concerns and their effect on children’s health were there even before the COVID-19 pandemic took off.

But are screens inherently bad?

Today, for most of us, screens are our window into the world— work, friends, family, fitness, and even education.

But how can we make sure we form a healthy relationship with the screen and the content on the screen?

As observed, both adults and children are experiencing an increase in screen time, but experts approve of this increased time on the screen. The bigger problem, experts suggest, lies in screens replacing positive activities like sleep, exercise, and socializing.

Given the present situation, limits on screen time will probably look a lot different than they once did. Start by acknowledging — to your kids and to yourself — that with school and socializing happening online, increased screen time is unavoidable.

But there are still techniques you can use to maintain boundaries:

Just follow these 3 simple things on a regular basis:

One screen-free meal per day.

Have one meal where the entire family dines together and keep it screen-free. Screen time, or even background television during mealtimes, has been linked to eating junk food. The low-nutrition food advertisements can influence the eating habits of toddlers and children and can lead to unhealthy food habits. A screen-free meal can lead to conversations during mealtime which helps to shape a child’s social-emotional health and eases stress for the whole family.

Two screen-free hours before bed. 

Keeping screens aside for two hours before bedtime will make it easier to fall asleep and to wake up on time. The “blue light” from mobiles, TVs, and other screens disrupt the natural sleep cycle. For younger children, it also helps to save screen time for after naps. For older kids, alarm notifications and device alerts can be an issue. Try using an actual alarm clock and keep their phones out of the bedroom.

Three ways to measure screen use.

The amount of time spent on a screen is just one of the three ways to measure the health of technology use. The more important aspect is the quality of content being watched. And also, being there to help your child process what’s on the screen are the two most important factors that can help create meaningful interactions.

With so much in flux right now, unstructured screen time is an important source of comfort and entertainment for many kids. Letting your kids know that you understand their needs is a simple way to reduce stress for everyone.

Before the COVID-19 crisis, the checklist might have included things like spending time with friends, keeping up with schoolwork, and participating in extracurricular activities. Now, the specifics may look different, but you can still use the same idea to assess whether your child is spending too much time on screens. Ask yourself:

• Is my child sleeping enough and eating a balanced diet?
• Are they getting some form of physical exercise every day?
• Are they getting some quality time with family?
• Do they use some screen time to keep in touch with friends?
• Are they invested in schoolwork and keeping up with homework?
• Are they getting involved in some household chores?

If you can answer yes to most of these questions, then your child is doing fine.

The American Association of Paediatrics has recently updated its guidelines on screen time usage in children. Click here