If you have been paying any attention, you have probably seen some debate or talk about what healthy screen time looks like for young kids. Screen time being time that a person spends looking at a screen--television, computer, phone, etc. If you are like me, it has probably been a scrambled effort have form thoughtful, reasonable, and coherent approach to the issue. Maybe you've had some success. Maybe some failures. I know I have.
Alright kids, that show is done. Time to close the computer.
Predictably, they start to whine. A friend is over the house. She came over because she wanted to help watch our kids. So she intercepts the upset children before they reach mom and dad. Sitting on the couch, they ask
Can you read us a book?
To which our friend responds
Oh, no. That would put me right to sleep. I'll just use my tablet to put a storybook on for you.
What I thought was going to be an audio book--i.e. all sound, no screen--was in fact an animated telling of a story with little cartoons. So, my kids have now gone from one couch watching a show, to another couch pretty much doing the same thing. I should have clarified that I meant we were done with screen time.
But that wasn't enough. I got my kids to engage with the physical reality again and play with the toys in their bin. They were getting along as kids do. Some whining, some fighting, and a lot of imagination. Until I walked in the room. Well, it wasn't really me being there that changed the environment, it was my phone. I was probably just scrolling or reading some article, but the glow of that device drew my kids in like moths to a zapper. They wanted more!
This made me realize that my "regulation" missed an important behavior altogether. While it is important to be intentional about your kid's behavior, how intentional are you about your own behavior? Specifically, how much screen time do YOU spend around your kids. At some point you should probably limit your own screen time for your healthy, but for now, let's focus on your kids.
When you allow an active screen into the space designed for play, you limit their imaginative expression. That can be your phone, the news channel playing in the background, or even certain toys these days. Technology and screens are not evil. They even have a proper place in your child's development and education at this point in history. But just like almost everything else, to keep it healthy, you will need to intentionally guide and moderate their behavior.
What is your approach to screen in the home. Drop your thoughts into the comments.
And until next time, be blessed.
Sam
Image Source: Screens, Play, TV
Recent Posts:
We Are More Similar Than Different
Through The Mud Pit of Grief
Don't Rock Block Your Daughter | Vlog
Do You Live a Life of Wonder and Joy? You Should Start.
Clink here: Steem Follower to get votes and find great content to upvote.
Clink here: Steem Engine to get followers and find great accounts to follow.
Mannabase is a cyrpto approach to Universal Basic Income.
Sign up now for your FREE weekly distributions of Manna
Full disclosure: it is a referral link.
