Is the daily screen time healthy for kids?

Managing screen time of kids is not easy as we think. It is a challenging task. Age from 5-10 years is a growing age; children are learning skills like (reading, writing, critical thinking, communication, teamwork, cooperation, empathy) and (self-regulation, confidence, and resilience.

While the excess use of screen can impact all this and child may be diverted more to screens and his ability to recognize all his abilities may affect as well with his physical health. But they can use screens for learning and creativity. A scheduled way can be a solution to this; they should be allowed mobile phones but no more than 1–2 hours of recreational screen time per day.

This would be the time they could use gadgets to use technology for a beneficial purpose like seeing art and craft videos or knowing the background story of any poem. This would be called as entertainment based screentime but make sure to be consistent in regulating this schedule and don’t let them watch unnecessary stuff.

Impact of long-term screen time

24/7 screen time produces blue lights having UV radiations which penetrates into the cells of brain, clogging the thought pattern. Diseases like autism and ADHD are common in children nowadays due to attention span and perfection obsession. Along with that, children who are surrounded by gadgets are typically seen agressive and irritable in nature.

They lack social cognitive empathy. Numbness is their new cool. Moreover, a lot of screen time can lead to unrealistic expectations from the world which distorts the healthy mindset. Lack of brain storming; Addiction of youtube shots, instagrams reels and tiktok video altogether are collapsing the thinking capability of children. Hence retarded growth of mind ultimately affects the physical health of child. Healthy mind is a healthy body.

Which age is perfect for mobile introduction to children?

As a parent, it is a matter of responsibility to decide when and how to introduce mobile phones to their children. Expert says mobile phones should not be brought into contact with children of age from 0-5 years as this is the learning age; child is growing and developing. If you introduce mobile phones to their routine, they will start dwelling on them.

Children aged 5-15 years should be made known to mobile phones but just for educational purposes and study related information and parents should monitor properly what they are exploring and the phone provided to them should not be personal but their own and the screen time should be fixed otherwise it would disturb their routine. Children of age from 15 to 20 years should be provided with personal phones with appropriate apps mainly for safety and communication purposes.

Is drawing or coloring activities help us?

Yes, activities like drawing and coloring pages improve children’s attention span. When a child is about to draw, he makes some decisions in his mind related to that drawing or makes a sketch in his head in the imaginative world of his mind. Or if he is copying the image, he becomes conscious and is fully involved in his drawing. Drawing or coloring forces a child to sit calmly and focus on drawing lines, choosing colors of perfect shades.

This helps to develop the ability of decision making in them. Drawing and coloring activities are one of the most important activities to improve the motor skills of a child. A child understands how to distinguish between colors, hold a pencil, and a bush. When a child is drawing, he pays proper attention and is thinking actively.

This process is mind-engaging, when child is about to draw his brain directs his hand to pick a color, then his brain process the sequence of steps involved in drawing, that’s how mind is occupied while performing any activity, thus improving the creativity and imaginative skills of a child. On completing a drawing, a child feels a sense of accomplishment: the ability to make you feel more confident and valued.