No limit on screen time Mom
How I miss packing lunch for my kids for school! Or watch them get their bags and uniform ready the night before!
Instead, they put their laptops for charging and set their tables ready for the school next morning.
In my house, a weekday morning is all about finishing breakfast and a hurried march to the rooms to get on with their school on their precious digital device, and I wonder, ‘What happened to the 30-minute screen time rule (besides school work) I had made for them.’
What we must remember is that online school was not a choice, but a necessity, considering the situation around us. Education has to go on.. And safety of our precious kids is must.
Teaching happens on screen, learning, homework, interacting with friends, news and even fitness class happens on screen!
Is it healthy?
I don’t have an answer.
Which part of all this do I take away from them? – A question, I am sure, every parent asks.
We have been constantly reading about the how deterrent excessive screen time can be.. It harms the vision, mental and physical health, and a lot more.
I agree with all this.
But give me a solution?
Kids need social interaction. We have to accept that these are new age kids, with strong and independent minds and their friends are very precious to them and crucial for their well-being. In fact, social interaction is crucial for all of us. That’s why we humans are called social animals. In this lockdown, where they can’t step out or have normal school, they need to speak to their friends and that can only happen on hangouts, video calls, etc. Yes, landline is an option, but seeing your friends face and reactions is another ball game all together. This lockdown has been going on for almost five months and don’t think life is getting back to normal anytime soon for these kids (and it’s for their safety that following the lockdown rules is important).
I, in fact, encourage my kids to do these video calls. It makes them happy and somewhat fills the hole social distancing and absence of physical school has created.
And there gets added more screen time in their daily routine 🙁
Then comes family video calls, which are as important; especially the ones with grandparents. The unconditional love and support kids get from them is priceless. I, at times, involve any one set of grandparents in some of my daughter’s assignments. She loves it, they love it, and I have some extra time to myself.
Most of us parents have always insisted that kids go out and play every day et some exercise.. I am a staunch believer of this.. But now, what do they do?
My answer was getting them into an online fitness class.
There, more screen!
But it does take care of the excess energy and health.
A friend of mine, who has a 6 and a 8-year-old daughters, made a group of few moms with same age kids and every evening, they do some fitness activity on that group on a video call. Every mom takes turns in teaching the kids.
Fabulous I must say!
Every child needs to learn new things. School is not enough. It could be music, dance, art, language, craft, anything. Since I am raising two kids, I know how important this has been for them. It gives them a lot broader perspective, gives them an interest, a hobby, a new dimension that moulds them into beautiful people. Since they cannot go out, they might as well do this online. I couldn’t take their learning away from them, so I had to accept added screen time.
When, with tired eyes, my son opens the news app, my heart breaks. But how do I deny him the knowledge of what’s happening around him.
When my daughter starts doing her homework on her computer after school, I can’t tell her ‘Don’t submit your assignments’, when thats all that i want to scream out, looking at her red eyes and fatigue on her face.
So, what do I do?
I consulted my doctors (online), read a lot about eye health (online) and started to practice these few things everyday:
- After every class, they wash their eyes and close them for 5 minutes.
- They learnt eye yoga and eye exercises which they do every evening for 10 minutes.
- I give them ice packs every night
- I hound them to blink as much as possible.
Now I might sound like a mother who did not take away anything from her kids, but that’s not true. I did take away their video games. That was added screen time I didn’t want.
I do object to unnecessary surfing the net. (Yet I cannot threaten them to take their laptops away 🙁 ).
When it comes to watching their favourite shows, I do make a disapproving face, but they do watch it once in a while. I need to cut them some slack!
Important to monitor what they are doing on their gadgets. A little peep once in a while is necessary. They are kids. They will make mistakes. Monitor, but be kind and understanding.
My answer to them twiddling their fingers in the idle time is playing a board game every day, giving them the responsibility of a few house chore, which absolutely has to be done, longer meal times on the dining table with stories and conversations I should be recording for the future, and regulated sleeping and waking up time.
Lockdown has isolated us all in our homes and the only touch with the outside world is our screen (or multiple screens). I weighed the pros and cons and chose to turn into “unlimited screen time mommy”- With an understanding that once life goes back to normal, the limited screen time rule comes back into play.
I am doing the best I can for my kids and I am sure, so are you.
These are tough times that will go on for a while longer. Staying home means we are safe and so are others around us.
I have shared how I am dealing with Siri going crazy, reminding all four of us the limitless hours we have been on screen 🙂
How you deal with it, has to be your call. Every child is different and we parents do know what’s best for our kids.
Hope this writeup helps you and you found it an interesting read.
Lots of love,
Divya.
So true Divya