Many parents are not happy with the idea of their children having a lot of screen time, and for good reason, they can potentially interfere with your child’s creativity or their development by not being as active or imaginative as they should be. According to many paediatrics, children up to 10 years should only be having up to 2 hours a day. Personally, I have no problem with needing to do what you need to, especially to get things done. No judgment here what so ever. Raising a family is hard work. It is your family and you should be able to make decisions free of guilt. So this is why I am proposing ways we can integrate balance so we can feel good about the choices we make when it comes to our family.
‘Unplugged families’ are on the rise. An Unplugged family, simply means you kindly set boundaries around how much time is committed to being on phones and screens over the duration of the day, week, month and year.
This simply means being realistic and setting yourself goals. Sometimes, screen time can be a blessing especially when I am tied up with other priorities, the weather isn’t great and helps break up the day. So for when the days screens are absolutely necessary, and I try a few of these things. Sitting down for long periods of time creates stagnant energy. It causes stress in the body. So If i know my kids are wanting to play games on their iPads or watch their favourite shows on netflix. I invite them to run through a few drills to release energy and circulate oxygen before sitting down for an extended time. This includes running laps and other high intensity exercises like bear crawls and star jumps or zumba.
Disconnecting young children from their screens usually triggers chaos. so I try to disconnect through reconnect. I do things that help them detach from one thing to another. So I imitate interaction with my son so it doesn’t seem like such a big loss. This usually means a game or one of his favourite things that will help him reconnect with me.
Creating Forms of Connection Through Invitation to Play
Children love imagining things and sometimes we need to create spaces where their imagination can give birth. This could be sitting a doll up at the table with cutlery and play food. Or on the bed with present medical tools. Creating a new Train track or environment for figurines. Most of the time children will not seperate themselves from you to go play on their own. Set up different invitations through out the day so your child has something to move onto.
Connecting to Self
Moving the body is a perfect way to get the mind to connect and have relationship with yourself. This is a form of meditation. It can be done through yoga, dance, swimming, walking, crafting. All of these are a form of self expression which requires connecting with the body and mind.
Informed is best
By practising these as much as you can you are teaching children how to connect with themselves and not rely on external entertainment to make them feel good.
It is not always bad news to have children on phones or use screen time as entertainment for your family. I think for me, having that time in my family is a great way to show a certain time to be still. Imagine Your 3 year old cracking eggs on the kitchen floor while you are scrubbing the bathroom! It would be one crazy sight!
Another point though, unplugging your family can be a great idea to keep all yourself and your children in the moment, this is what I love to take photos of, family connecting with each other. Sometimes children/parents can go overboard with their phones and iPads and that can really get in the way time to build connection and relationships..
I do believe in informed decisions and that is empowering in what ever you decide, just make sure you are happy. It is your day, and if you want the kids to be occupied, that is not a problem. If you want to keep the whole family off of devices, that is good as well.