The modernisation and globalisation era has brought everything online and on screens. You can grab a piece of anything from anywhere and the spectrum of ages exposed to it is widening every day. As well as a boon, it could be bane if not regulated properly especially for kids. With an array of entertainment to information everything is available on screens these days, hence increasing the risk of frequent exposure and poor programming. So, here’s how you can regulate your child’s screen time.
When Can My Baby Be Introduced To Screens?
Generally, most doctors and medical organisations discourage screen time for babies less than 18 months of age with exception to video chatting for the babies to chat with their loved ones far away from them. If you decide to let them watch after 18 months, ensure you only give them very limited access to high programming content. When they complete two years and are growing up, having a strict one window regime wouldn’t work, you’d have to constantly and consistently check the content and the time they spend on it.
Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!
Make sure you view all of the content before your child watches them and ensure that they are more interactive than the normal swipe and click programs. Also, make sure you filter the internet and block out all unnecessary content. To make sure you bond well with your kid, you could either watch it with them which would help you monitor their screen time or you could interact with them about the content they watch which would give you an idea about their comprehending skills.
Don’ts of Screen Time
As the kids are young, their distinctive nature can compromise, hence always make sure you discuss with them about the advertisements they watch and how facts are different from the ads and commercials. Even if screens are an inevitable part of your life, unplugged and unstructured routine playtime are very important for a child, especially the toddlers as they tend to learn through the in-person interaction and helps their cognitive and comprehension skills. Also, it is good to ban digits in your child’s room for a while, ensuring that they don’t get addicted to it and helping them have a perfect balance.
Excessive Screens Are Depressive
Although the screen is going to be a part of your kid’s life sooner or later, having anything in excess is definitely injurious. Some of the common complications that excess screen time can cause includes the following
- Obesity
- Disruptive Sleep Cycle
- Behavioral problems
- Social And Lingual Under-development
- Less Focus and Concentration
Alternatives For The Win
If you’re not a huge fan of screens, then there are plenty other activities that could fulfil that void. For example, you could take your baby on a drive or to window-shop in a mall, their vision of physical things and you giving a voice over about what they are would help them be more interactive. Read them books, play board games or take them to watch audience oriented games like cricket, football and so on, which could pique their interest and encourage physical movement.
We are only attempting here on how you could go about the screens, but with your imagination and knowledge of what you want for your kid, sky’s the limit.
