FEATURE
SCREEN T I ME:
HOW MU CH IS TO O MU CH?
By Bawani MK. It’s one of those subjects that parents are so divided over. How much screen time should kids have? Should they have any screen time at all? We also need to understand that screen time isn’t all bad for kids, of course using it in moderation. Back when we were growing up, the most we did was probably watch the Sunday cartoons or movies. Our generation and the one before that knew what it meant to spend time without getting hooked on television. These days the amount of screen time children spend in front of digital devices is worrying. This one’s squarely in your hands and will take some work, but managing screen time is important and becoming more so at lightning speed, especially when we are stressed by these global circumstances where coronavirus has
made the use of digital devices, even more, a part of our daily lives. Considering the Covid-19 times, it has become kind of impossible for kids to avoid screen time. Rather it has impacted severely on younger kids. Despite hearing so many warnings about too much screen time for kids, parents are stuck with online schooling as well. Even in our home, my eldest was never given a phone / iPad / or TV but during the pandemic things changed where we gave her an iPad to keep her occupied and she was just 3 years old. As I was expecting my second one and my husband was under the essential services, the iPad was our
12 PALMY PARENT . PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
