Screen Time: How much is ok?
I often get asked by parents, “how much screen time is ok for my kids?”. Well, here’s the thing, when we use the term ‘screen time, it can refer to such a myriad of different ways in which we engage with screens. It is time we reconsidered the generic use of the term ‘screen time, and here’s why.
Consider how different the following activities are, that are all loosely categorised as screen time:
- Building an imaginative city in Minecraft collaboratively with their sibling
- Watching “epic fail” videos
- Playing an intense, multiplayer, first-person shooter game
- Watching a Disney film
- Learning a language using an app like Duolingo
As you can see, it is clear that not all screen time is created equal!
We need to start reshaping our understanding of screen time to be much more than just several hours per day/week but instead focus more on the type of screen time. Watch the video below as I explain a simple way that you, together with your children, can use the SPIIE challenge to start reflecting on the different types of screen time. From this reflection comes balance, and after all, balance is the key!
Guest Contributor: Carley McGauran & Martin McGauran
Business Name:
Inform & Empower
Publisher: Digital Schools
Carley McGauran (renowned as the ‘practical parent psychologist’) together with Martin McGauran (experienced primary school teacher and consultant) founded Inform & Empower. They promote healthy school communities through incursions, teacher professional learning and parent education on a range of topics including cyber safety, wellbeing and readiness for school. For more information visit
www.informandempower.com.au
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