According to Statistics Canada, out of 4.5 million children ages 6 to 17, over half are spending more than 2 hours a day in front of a screen.
Now I just want to point out two things while I write this:
Number 1, I spend at least 8 hours a day in front of a computer, television, and phone screen at both home and work. So really, I realize the hypocrisy.
And Number 2, this is not an anti-technology rant.
For some farm kid stuck in the middle of nowhere, this can be their only connection to the world outside the farm.
For some kids who have trouble socializing, same thing.
However, kids should balance their summer between the on screen and off screen worlds.
We all know the problems too much screen time can have, especially with kids under the age of five, as more and more research comes out regarding this issue.
The Canadian Paediatric Society just released their study on screen time and young children on June 1 and lays it out pretty clearly why screen time can be harmful to children’s development.
“Early learning is easier, more enriching and developmentally more efficient when experienced live, interactively, in real time and space, and with real people,” says the study.
Of course with the introduction of a screen, that is face to face interaction that children do not get.
There are plenty of people online willing to put in their two cents on how to limit screen usage.
Sifting through the pages upon pages of information, there is one important fact that should be noted; parents are not alone in finding ways to balance their child’s screen time with off screen time.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the way children develop has not changed, development just now includes the digital world.
“As a result, it makes sense for parents to apply the same rules to children’s real and virtual environments. This means playing with your child, teaching kindness, being involved, and knowing your child’s friends and what your child does with them.”
Working with kids, maybe we will be able to limit our own screen time and add a little more off screen time to our own lives.
Healthykidshealthyfuture.org even makes this part of their reducing screen time strategy.
“Parents can set a good example by limiting their own TV viewing, smart phone and video game use. Track screen time with a scheduling sheet. Avoid watching TV while eating.”
I am not a parent, so while I say there are benefits to kids limiting screen time for the summer months, I for one do not have to hear the incessant, ‘I’m bored,’ all summer.
Again I say, not without realizing the hypocrisy, that the internet is a great source of information on this matter as well. If anything, it will connect parents to other parents who are having the same problem with finding non-screen options for
summertime fun.
