Creating Healthy Habits - Navigating Screen Time

 I often get asked by parents if their child's screen time content could be affecting their behaviour?

The answer is always a very easy YES.

The content we consume at any age can have a huge impact on our mental health and well-being, which is why it’s so important to actively and consciously choose what we surround ourselves with and absorb.

Through media sources, children may see these things before they are emotionally ready to understand them and before they can make good decisions - including how to manage the associated BIG feelings that arise as a result.

Some other difficulties children may experience include:

• Difficulty transitioning and coming off a screen.
• Nightmares and trouble sleeping.
• Low frustration tolerance.
• Impacts on attention, working memory, and impulse control.
• Social and commercial pressures.
• Negative effects on important tasks like homework, school performance and quality family time.

There are so many studies out there, that leave parents of children of all ages feeling more confused and conflicted than ever. Often wondering:

• If they should we ban or limit screen time?
• How much screen time is best?
• What should and should their children not be watching?
• How do they manage this when they have more than one child, with different ages and different screens to consider?

These questions are key.

Parents need less guilt and more support though, because like it or loathe it, technology is a part of every day life that's here to stay. 

The good news is that when balanced with other activities, screen time and digital technology use can be good for your child’s learning and development. This can happen when your child:

• Uses age-appropriate, good-quality media – for example, when your child plays a video game that involves critical or creative thinking.
• Uses digital technology with a purpose – for example, when your child goes online to find instructions for a craft activity.
• Gets new ideas for traditional play from screen time – for example, when your child plays Minecraft and gets interested in designing buildings with boxes, glue and paper.
• Uses digital technology to connect with people they know – for example, when your child talks with family using video-chat or plays multi-player games with friends.
• Produces content – for example, when your child writes, draws, or uses an app to create music, animations or for making and editing images or short movies.
• Uses digital technology to solve problems and think creatively – for example, learning coding, programming, for navigation, organisation, and to set goals and track progress.

These days technology is everywhere. It's used both in education and the workplace, so as parents, it's important to make technology a healthy part of childhood, empowering your children by teaching them Healthy Habits:

• Set clear and consistent expectations - Discuss with children in advance how and when they can use screen time, as well as for which purposes and for how long. The key to this is taking into account different issues or ideas, talking with your children and ensuring that they understand the "why" behind all decisions.
• Provide chances to learn and grow - I always say, "with freedom comes responsibility." It's important that you set limits and boundaries with the expectations. For example, they can play for one-hour until dinner time and you will give a 5-minute warning when it is time to turn it off. If they make the right choices, showing that they can be responsible, they get the freedom. If they  don't make the right choices, there are natural and logical consequences, limiting the freedom until they can show that they are now more responsible. This may be losing screen time, having maybe half-an-hour or forty five minutes as it takes them longer to transition and turn it off. 
• Model and make it a healthy part of family-life - Model the behaviour, habits and choices that you want to see from your child. Children learn how to react in similar situations by watching how you behave and often do what you do. Choose games and programs that you can engage in as a family. Enjoy some healthy competition, try something new together, following instructions or a recipe, and learn and grow together, immersed in each others online and screen - based world.

Here at Sunny Kids Shine®, we help make BIG feelings child-size. Our award-winning Feelings Detective® curriculum is made up of 6 unique phases. Each phase has been carefully designed to equip children with the tools they need to SHINE through school and beyond, with Self-awareness, Healthy habits, Independence, Nurturing qualities and Emotional intelligence. We also support parents, caregivers and professionals to become children's Emotional Champions. Our Pay-As-You-Need Power Hours are here to help, offer a flexible, accessible, and personalised approach - tailored to the needs of both children and their families across the UK.

For further information on any of our products and services, please visit, www.sunnykidsshine.com or email [email protected].