Balancing Digital and Physical Play

Did you know that research has shown a drastic increase in screen time for young children after the COVID-19 pandemic? Not only adults, but kids too have been facing adverse effects of screen time on mental as well as physical health. During the pandemic, when the whole world went online for work, it also went online for schooling. From online education and completing assignments, it took no time to escalate into eating while watching screens, mindless scrolling, and playing games for endless hours. Screen time existed even before the pandemic so what changed? We failed in balancing digital and physical play during and after the pandemic. And this screen time now has made a strong hold over the lives of our children and are slowly affecting not only their physical but mental health as well.

But how much screen time is too much? Today, in this article we will discuss the adverse effects of screen time and enlist some tips that will help you reduce the screen time for your children. 

The Rise of Screen Time: How Much is Too Much?

With the increasing growth of technology and the availability of the internet, we have seen a huge increase in the screen time of young kids. And COVID-19 just escalated it faster. The devices and the kind of shows available for kids have also proven to have adverse effects. According to the present data, children spend about 30% of their lives on screens till their teenage years. This is more in the boys as they are seen to be more engaged in video games, movies and more. 

Research and renowned doctors suggest limiting screen time to 2 hours a day and no more for kids until 17. They suggest 0 screen time for kids until 3 years of age. If you look around, a child of 6-8 months is hooked to the screen while eating, sleeping and playing. Can you see where we are lacking?

The Benefits of Digital Play

Every coin has two sides, and so does screen time. Screen time is not completely bad, but knowing how much is too much and balancing digital and physical play is the key to a positive outcome. No wonder there are numerous benefits of digital, but knowing how one appropriately includes it in the child’s life can have a huge positive impact. Encouraging children to play digitally interactive games can help them foster cognitive and social skills, eventually boosting their creativity and social interaction. There is enough educational content and games available that can help them learn a new language, math skills or some new concepts.

The Benefits of Physical Play

For generations and generations, we have been seeing and studying how helpful physical play is for a growing child. Not only will your child develop motor skills, but the health overall, including prevention of obesity, and increased immunity, is proven. A physically active child is less stressed, less agitated, and has a better mood and a good sleep cycle compared to a child who has a higher screen time. Social skills including public speaking, and social interaction come naturally to kids who spend most of their playtime outdoors. 

Tips to Balancing Digital and Physical Play

• Creating a Strict Schedule: A strict schedule for how and when to use screens is one of the first steps towards limiting screen time. As a family, making a schedule and ensuring your child follows it is important. A dedicated time slot for digital and physical play has to be planned. 
• Active Screen Time: Encouraging children to watch shows that include dancing or playing fitness games will help them be physically active even during screen time. Asking them to play interactive educational games will help them improve their learning skills even during digital play.
• Screen-Free Zones: Parents should strictly prohibit children from avoiding screens during meal times, or on the dinner table. This will encourage healthy eating habits in children. Making bedrooms and nighttime a screen-free zone makes the children interact with their family members and fosters healthy sleeping habits. 
• Rewarding Physical Play: rewarding children after reading a book or performing certain exercises will motivate them to perform more outdoor activities. Being actively present with them during outdoor activities, and playing with them will also help them be more physically active. 
• Educate: Communicate and teach children how screen time is affecting their health. Teach them the importance of balancing digital and physical play. Encourage them to come up with their solutions.

Conclusion

Reducing screen time is a struggle for us adults, so just think how badly it affects our kids. Kids developing anger issues, agitation and bad mood swings are just a few negative impacts among an ocean of them. Taking slow and steady steps to reduce these impacts and balancing digital and physical play will go a long in your child’s mental and physical health as well,