Screens, you can’t get away from them these days. Parents need them to work from home, kids need them for school. They are inevitable now. However, some kids finish their school work in 3-4 hours. Then, they have the rest of the day! But, to do what? Parents, teachers and healthcare providers have always agreed about one thing, spending too much time on screen is harmful! Video games, YouTube, TikTok and all the other social media are a part of kids’ daily life, especially teenagers. So, as parents should you worry about how much screen your children are getting during these unprecedented times?

The professionals say no. Give yourself a break! We are in a pandemic and we are in survival mode. You are under enough stress without having to think how much screen your child is getting. There are benefits of screen during these times. They allow your children to have a social life, of some sort. Kids are used to spending 8hrs/day with kids their own age socializing at school. Since the pandemic, there are no sports, extracurricular activities and school clubs for social interactions. They’re bored and need to have their social needs met. Now, that comes in the forms of video chat, multiplayer online video games with their friends, and other social media. They miss their friends. The extra screen time also helps in distracting them from the stress we are all facing due to COVID-19.

We still need to use common sense though. Allowing your children to have a screen of some sort for 16hrs/day is definitely excessive. As parents, you set limits to digital devices in order for your kids to complete school work & contribute to the family, i.e., chores. Setting limits is an essential part of parenting. Dr. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, tells us we must meet our most basic needs daily. Is your child meeting their basic needs? Nutrition, sleep and some sort of physical activity in their day all need to be met. If they are, let them have the extra screen time during quarantine. The benefits may outweigh your concerns that extra screen time may be harmful. It’s ok to loosen your screen time limits!

References:

https://www.additudemag.com/screen-time-limits-during-pandemic/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/our-hierarchy-needs