As a parent, it’s important to learn how to manage your child’s screen time during the pandemic. You and your children are likely spending majority of your time at home. As they’re starting out in the first few months of their distance learning, your child may be accustomed to devoting much of their time on electronic devices. They may be playing mobile games, scrolling mindlessly on their social media accounts, or just simply doing random things on the internet.
However, spending too much time on the internet has its drawbacks. It may even affect their overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help your children out. Read on to learn more.
Spend more time doing hobbies
Due to your busy schedule, you might find yourself spending more time working, rather than being with your child. But it’s crucial that you’re still able to free up your schedule to do activities with your child.
When your child can sense that you take an interest in their hobbies, they’re less likely to spend their time on smartphones or tablets, and subsequently spend more time with you. Take this time to really take part in your child’s interests.
For example, if they love to draw, it’s good to spend a few minutes drawing with them. If they’re into sports, encourage them to improve their skills by playing with them. Ultimately, it depends on your child’s preference to find out the best activities that you can both do together.
Pay attention to quality
Since we live in the digital age, being on the internet is nothing new. To make the most out of this important invention, parents may want to turn their attention towards the kind of content that their child is consuming.
Instead of focusing on the quantity, you’d also want to focus on quality when it comes to your child’s internet usage. There are tons of internet resources that can both be fun and productive for your child.
Instead of just letting them watch cartoons that don’t really have any value, encourage them to use apps that aim to teach your child important skills that they can use in their lives.
There are actually many smartphone apps that offer to teach children of all ages basic skills and knowledge such as math, reading, history, language, and more. If you want something more hands-on, there’s also a lot of internet content that promotes physical activity. Take advantage of these resources that are at your disposal, so that your child will have a more fulfilling and productive online experience.
Come up with a schedule
It’s crucial that you’re able to train your child to manage the time they spend on electronic devices during their early years. A great way to achieve this is by coming up with a schedule that they can easily follow. This can help them form a habit and understand the concept of limitations, especially when it comes to electronic use.
Craft a daily plan that your child can get used to. Include periods of the day where they’re allowed to use the internet — say, for example, one hour of internet use after lunch.
Your child might not warm up to the idea at first, but the longer you introduce variety to their daily lives, like hobbies, learning, and other productive activities, then the less inclined they’ll be in spending most of their time online.
Key Takeaway
This short guide above has hopefully given you some tips on how to manage your child’s screen time during the pandemic. Keep in mind that the internet should not be you, or your child’s enemy. Instead, it should be a tool for learning that you simply need to properly manage and explore more of.
The best piece of advice when it comes to managing their time online is to encourage them to add variety. Mindless internet consumption can only get your child so far — they’ll soon find other activities that are far more interesting and valuable to them. Help them out through it by making a habit of the practices presented in this article.
