The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter TECH ZONE
‘ Screen time' is an outdated concept, so let's ditch it and focus on quality instead
It is school holidays in Australia and, in many parts of the country, it ’ s also raining and bitterly cold. This means many children are stuck indoors and many parents will be grappling with how much ‘ screen time ’ their kids are having. As an early childhood researcher and parent to a four - year - old, this is a question I am asked a lot. How much screen time is too much? Should I be worried about how much my child is watching? If I had magic powers, I would get rid of the concept of screen ‘ time ’. We need to be talking about screen quality instead.
talk about your problems than fight about them ’. This also allows you to teach your kids to be critical about the media they watch.
You choose what your kids watch
The second strategy is to make active choices about what your kids watch. This means we can select content that supports learning and matches our values. This doesn ’ t mean every show has to be blatantly educational but there are a lot of programs out there that can help kids grow and develop their skills. For example, in my house, Numberblocks has created an interest in early numeracy and Bluey promotes physically active play, emotional resilience and self - regulation. Dino Dana and Andy ’ s Dinosaur Adventures connect children to the prehistoric world, and of course Play School continues to be a favourite. Other families report video games such as Mario Kart promote fine motor skills and teamwork. Of course, a ‘ dose ’ of Peppa Pig or something else just for fun is OK sometimes, too, in the same way adult viewers might veg out with Bridgerton or James Bond movies. The message here is that parents and carers can make conscious choices about quality. This means that rather than just turn on the TV or iPad and walk away, we need to engage with what our kids are watching and playing.
What does quality screen use look like?
There are two main strategies to focus on. The first is to engage with what your child is watching or playing. The research calls this ‘ co - viewing ’ or ‘ co - engaging ’. This idea focuses on using children ’ s engagement with television and games as a chance to talk, promote language and build comprehension. After or during viewing, parents could ask children to explain what they watched. For example, ‘ wow, you watched some PAW Patrol today, what were you noticing? ’ or ‘ I see you ’ re loving Hey Duggee, which parts do you like? ’. This also gives us a chance to say if something doesn ’ t align with your values: ‘ they fight a lot in Ninjago, it is better to
About the author
Kate Highfield is Senior Lecturer, Deputy Head of School (ACT and regional NSW) at Australian Catholic University. This article originally appeared on The Conversation , Published: July 8, 2022 5.51am AEST
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