How much screen-time should we allow our young ones? You are raising the first generation of children who will grow up with technology and there hasn’t been a definite answer on how much screen time will hinder or enhance their development. We feel your pain! Though there is no one size fits all template for every child, you can adhere to a few guidelines to maintain a healthy relationship with technology.
Introducing the smart phone and tablet can wait till they are at least 2 years old. Young ones don’t benefit from the games or television as much as they would from human interaction and imaginative play. While you are led to believe that educational applications give your infants a head start in school, it actually delays their language ability – babies listen to learn and it’s been proven that they encounter more words through conversations with their parents than when they are glued to the screens.
There’s a reason why smartphones have a Sleep Mode. Our screens are naturally made to produce colder light which disrupts our sleep cycle. As young children, sleep is essential for their growth and immunity so keep any educational apps or television time at least 2-3 hours before bed time so that their brains can settle down. It’s important to note that for delicate infants, even the background noise and lights emitted from a nearby television is enough to over stimulate and disrupt their sleep cycle.
Pick A Type
With the myriad of applications available in stores, it is recommended that you do proper research and explore the application thoroughly on your own before passing the tablet over to your child. With that said, don’t overwhelm your children with too much knowledge. Choose a few quality subject applications and alternate them once every week, you can browse through a few options here.
When you fit screen-time into your everyday schedule, guiding your child through the games will help to enhance the learning process and improve your relationship at the same time. This way, you can also monitor their behaviour in response to the games and correct them accordingly.