Having a happy life off the small screen

WITH technology use becoming more common for some families, many parents might be at a loss for what to do to keep their kids off the screens.

Positive Parenting Program’s international country director Carol Markie-Dadds said the holidays are generally the times of year when screen time increases for kids.

“There’s less routine and structure to the day,” she said. “When you have your school hours to fit in that cuts down on a lot of screen time and extracurricular activities.

“It’s important families get together and plan the key things they’re doing over the holidays so they don’t just get into a rut of sitting on their devices.

“It’s also important parents start early in teaching kids responsible screentime habits and involving in that process of setting rules and boundaries.”

With long summer days throughout January, Ms Markie-Dadds said it’s the perfect time to utilise family activities to keep children engaged.

“Physical activity is a really good alternative and something that involves mum, dad and the kids getting out for ball games, visiting the park or exploring the neighbourhood,” she said.

“Anything that involves family time over this holiday period is great, so if parents and carers are home and can spend more time with their children it’s great for creating lots of family memories.

“We absolutely need lots of healthy experiences to be able to grow healthy brains and develop.

We need adequate sleep time and lack of physical activity is probably the biggest consequence as well.

“It’s essential they maintain their gross and fine motor skills, and also that they’re developing their social skills with cues and maintaining conversations.”

Exercise guidelines from the Department of Health and Aged Care recommend no screen time for children under two years old and no more than one hour for kids aged between two and five.

For kids aged between five and 18, it’s recommended up to two hours of screen time is acceptable, not including school use.

Ms Markie-Dadds said it’s important for parents to exercise moderation instead of keeping their kids off screens completely.

“They’re are such a large part of our lives now, so we’re not looking at cutting out all use,” she said.

“But it’s about making sure we’re not spending so much time on them that we’re missing out on the really important parts of development like physical activity and learning social skills.

“Parents need to think about the model they set as well.

“That really involves being able to show they can set them down and do other things and not being on them 24/7.”