Screen Time — The Necessary Co-Parent in these COVID Times

One day we were making plans for our next holiday and suddenly our worlds were turned upside down; we’ve been told to stay and work from home for an unknown period of time. Even as adults it has been incredibly tough to come to terms with this new normal and one can only imagine how confused our children must have been. It’s hard for a little child to understand why they can’t go to the park to play or go to school and meet their friends, and educators and parents have had to put on multiple hats managing the household and working, while also finding ways to keep their children engaged and entertained.

Rules around screen time have been at the centre of many discussions in the last few years. Every parent at some point has been anxious about the amount of screen time their child gets and then always weighing the benefits against the effects. At Papagoya, we have had Parent Community meetings focused specifically around screen time — the right amount, the right age and the right content. We firmly believe that there is no single, right way to do it. Every family must find the right balance for themselves — because every family dynamic and situation is different.

While trying to determine what screen time looks like in each of your homes, start by reflecting on what screen time looked like during your childhood. Here are some questions to ponder :

1. How often did you get screen time?
2. What device did you watch it on?
3. Was there a designated time and place for this?
4. Was it always with the family or did you get time on your own?
5. What were the kind of shows you watched and what was the impact of them on you?

You will broadly notice that screen time more often than not meant family time in your childhoods, there was just one device to watch it on, and designated times as well for the same. These basic principles still hold good and allow us to better navigate screen time for our children.

Developmental research tells us that creating a healthy screen media environment for children is about more than just screen time; it’s also about :
- Selecting media experiences informed by the individual child
- The context in which the media is used
- The content of children’s media exposure

LEGO Foundations Screen Time Analysis

LEGO partnered with some leading researchers for in-depth research on Screen Sense — where they analyzed that while screen time did have negative effects, a lot of this could also be mitigated by controlling what children were watching and the environment in which they were watching it. You can a-kin this a bit to a bowl of rajma rice and a hot fudge sundae. Both have calories, however, one might be a healthier choice than the other.

Here are key points presented in the LEGO research paper that stood out to us:

1. Engaging a child using Video calls: Video chats with children are a great way to engage them creatively and it’s the best way to mimic a real interaction. It allows young children to see relatives or friends they may not otherwise interact with. This visual element also makes video calls more meaningful for babies and toddlers, who are highly attuned to faces; and they can use and see non-verbal communication, which is a critical part of early interactions with young children. When on video calls, conduct activities (e.g. playing with puppets or stuffed animals, playing peek-a-boo), imaginary physical interactions (e.g. playing hide-and-seek, dancing to music, sharing a snack through the screen), and other activities the child and remote loved ones enjoy doing when they’re together (e.g., reading a favourite book).
2. Actively involved and meaningful content: A tv show that has shapes, colours or counting, ensures the experience becomes more meaningful by connecting it to their daily routines. Research shows that the more active children are as they engage with screen media, the greater their learning. Programs like Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues, in which characters speak directly to the child and pause for the child’s reply — actively eliciting their participation — have been found to encourage expressive language production and vocabulary
3. Avoid Fantastical Content: Programs that are fantastical (or feature unrealistic characters and settings) have a more negative effect than shows that are more realistic in nature. It’s likely that children find it difficult to comprehend the fantastical elements of the plot that are not grounded in their understanding of everyday life, so these programs may further tax their emerging executive functioning skills. This phenomenon is similar to the mental exhaustion students can experience after taking a challenging exam.
4. Warm & Fuzzy Content is Key: And hence content that is warm and fuzzy and gives children a good feeling, as well as relatable to their daily lives is critical. Parent-child interactions are a critical part of early development and make up an enormous part of children’s everyday experiences. Content that portrays warm adult-child interactions like Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood or Llama Llama become very relatable for children.
5. Repetition is crucial for a child: Does your child ask for the same show, maybe even the same episode every time? Well, that is absolutely normal. Face-to-face interactions require fewer repetitions because it is easier for toddlers to process more complete information in real life. Screen usage, however, forms memories in bits and pieces unlike face-to-face, real-world interactions. When a more complete memory has formed, young children are better able to use the information they take in from the screen and transfer it to real-world situations.

Looking at the Bigger Picture

Everyone is doing their best to keep their families safe and healthy while juggling the many hats they now wear. Kindergartens like Papagoya are also trying to be their supportive best by quickly moving to a Distance Learning approach to continue children’s development. And it is ok to relax some rules around screen time if it makes getting through this time a little bit easier.

Here are some ways that families can navigate screen time rules during the lockdown

1. Create a set of basic family rules around screen time — like avoiding it during mealtime and bedtime — is a great way to set boundaries. Also having a designated time for your child to watch their shows gives them the ability to control and self-regulate.
2. Make the best of video calls to stay connected with close friends, grandparents, uncles and aunts. Incorporate fun games and reading into these calls.
3. Openly communicate with your child about the situation and inform them about the change and how these rules will go back to normal once the lockdown ends. This will make them feel included and more understanding of the change.
4. Getting children to participate in Distance Learning options that Kindergartens like Papagoya are enabling. This brings familiar faces of educators to their homes and makes them feel connected to their world.
5. Audiobooks and podcasts are a great alternative to screens and provide some great free age-appropriate content.
6. Have some time in the day that is screen-free and spend uninterrupted time with your child on an activity, going for a walk or reading a book together.
7. Engage your children and follow up with them on what they are watching. Revisiting it with them by asking questions and doing an activity with them around it allows you to be part of their world.
8. It is important you always watch a few episodes of any show your child may watch to ensure quality, content and context. Making a list of age-appropriate content your children can watch during your busy time, that is pre-vetted by you, simplifies the process of supervising screen time.

And here we are with some help!

The Papagoya family is always supportive of children and parents alike. Here is our list of age-appropriate show recommendations for kids.

1- 3 year olds:

Daniel Tiger — Based on the wonderful Mr Rogers (Reference the new Tom Hanks movie) Daniel Tiger is a heartwarming show based on all the little and big emotions and situations children face every day (this works great for children between 3–6 years too)

Sesame Street — The furry characters that we grew up on are still around, and still very very entertaining

Curious George — A naughty little monkey called George whose curiosity knows no bounds and often gets him into trouble

Pingu — About a baby penguin who lives with his family in an igloo and speaks Penguinese

Iggle Piggle in the Night Garden — Teletubby kind of characters who jump and bounce around in a garden. There are few words and mostly sounds and it is very slow and soothing for children

Dora the Explorer — An oldy but a goody about a little explorer named Dora. The best part is that the show is interactive and she often gets the audience to do actions with her

Thomas and Friends — A harmless and fun show about trains and engines and the adventures they go on

3–6 year olds:

Llama Llama -Based on the popular children’s books by Anna Dewdney, this animated series is about a young child’s first steps in growing up and facing childhood milestones.

Our Planet Series — Many of the children know about David Attenborough and most of the episodes in this series are lovely and not too violent

Story Bots — A series based on questions that kids ask — they range from why do you brush your teeth — to what happens when you flush the pot.

Wild Kratts — Children’s fantasy mixed with real animal facts

Beatle Bugs — Bring Beatlemania home through this adorable series, where each series is based on one Beatle song at a time

Dinosaur Train — Dinosaurs are all the rage at Papagoya and have been for a while. This is a show that goes through the various Dinosaur Ages while having a lovely underlying story about how every family is different

In addition, this is also an exhaustive list of educational Netflix shows across ages which has been put together — https://www.weareteachers.com/educational-netflix-shows/

Disney Hotstar has also just launched with a series of amazing shows including their Disney Nature series for children.

Links to Podcasts and Audio Books

New York Times recommends these podcasts — https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/parenting/podcasts-for-kids.html

Amazon Global Audiobooks are free: Audible Stories are available for children who are temporarily unable to go to school around the world — https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

Social distancing and lockdowns are a challenging time for all but it can also be a little comforting to know that we have one less thing to worry about and that’s the amount of screen time our children have. These are extraordinary times and there is no right/wrong way to deal with everything going on. Ultimately, we must each do what works best for us and our families.