Why screen time is not (always) a bad word

By Stacie Gaetz

Parents these days are told that screen time is something that should be limited and closely managed.

We so often say or hear other parents say, “I feel so bad, my kid had so much screen time today because I was so busy.”

Although excess screen time (like too much of anything) can be negative, we often overlook the fact that technology will be a huge part of our children’s professional and personal lives as they grow up. Learning how to navigate that technology is beneficial to our children and should not be seen as a strictly negative activity.

Everything in Moderation

Of course, I am not suggesting that you allow your children to mindlessly started at the TV for six hours a day; nor am I saying that you should have them create complicated code for hours on end. It is important to understand that there are a number of educational benefits to screen time. As long as you make sure your children are safe online and are practicing an “everything in moderation” mentality, screen time doesn’t have to be a bad word.

Educational Apps

Children can learn almost any skill through the apps and programs that are out there today.

As I’m sure you know, there are apps available that teach everything from learning the ABCs, counting, math, science, solving puzzles, printing, simple coding and much more.

Playing these games are wonderful education tools for our kids and you will be surprised how much they learn from them. Not only will they learn the content the app is meant to teach but also how to navigate simple systems, typing skills and how to troubleshoot when something goes wrong.

Other Applications

Although many of these apps are free, in some cases you don’t even need them to make screen time educational. Open up any writing software and allow your child to type. They can explore with spelling, capitals, symbols, numbers etc.

Or pop open your computer’s, tablet’s or phone’s calculator and get them to add, multiply or divide random numbers or to help solve a real-life problem. (Adapting measurements for a recipe, checking the best sale price at the grocery store, how many cookies each person in the family gets if you have eight left over etc).

Teach them how to use a search engine and how to choose the best result.

Do they know how to use a dictionary and thesaurus? What about Google Maps or another GPS?

Why not let them play around with the camera for a while and learn a bit about taking photos from different angles and how filters change the look of a picture?

The possibilities are endless, and most are free with your device.

Fun Stuff

It is also important to let them do the fun, mindless stuff from time to time. We all watch TV for entertainment, play videogames or spend some time laughing at funny animal videos sometimes. Show them that it is okay (even great) to sit back and enjoy technology just for fun.

You can help avoid the “just five more minutes!” fights by making the rules very clear beforehand. Let them know that you will be doing the screen time activity for a certain amount of time and it will need to be put away after that. Set a timer or even set it up so the device automatically turns off after that amount of time if you anticipate push back.

Get Involved

The best way to make screen time as beneficial as possible for our children is to get involved and enjoy it with them. Whether they are typing, playing an educational game or enjoying a movie, they will get much more out of the experience if we are by their side asking questions, commenting on how well they are doing and laughing with them.

It can increase their self-esteem if you let them know that they are skilled at the game and can even do things you couldn’t (which in my case is 100 percent true as my five-year-old’s technological aptitude already far exceeds mine).

Ask them questions about the game or program to get their minds thinking about things in different ways. An example of this could be “Why do you think the water changes from ice to steam when you increase the temperature?” or “You knew that 10 + 5 = 15! That’s amazing! What do you think 5 + 10 equals?”

Apply what they are doing or watching to the real world by asking them why the little girl on the show is so sad or helping them figure out how to get out of the maze in the role-playing game they are so into.

Safety First

Of course, before you allow your child to take to the internet, you must make sure there are safety measures in place. Any device they use should have some form of parental controls on it.

Teach your children how to set strong passwords, let them know that anything they post is “out there” forever, tell them they should never chat with anyone they do not know in real life and teach them the importance of fact checking.

Possibly the most important step to screen time safety (and peace in your home) is setting ground rules. Let them know about specific time limits; sit with them while they are on the device; ensure the computer, tablet or phone is used in a common area and never behind closed doors; and make sure you have access to any social media accounts or any applications where someone outside of their “friends” or “followers” can message them.

Speak to your kids about why internet safety is important. Talk to them early and often and ask them if they have heard any stories about things you shouldn’t do. Share your mistakes, like the time you used 123456 for your password and got hacked.

Our children spending a reasonable amount of time of a screen each day isn’t something we should be ashamed of. The way technology is progressing, it will be a huge part of their lives as they grow up and they need to learn how to use it (and how to manage that use on their own as they get older). Stop feeling bad for handing your child a tablet from time to time and know they are learning skills they will use for years to come.