Children and technology: How to use screen time for good

When my daughter was younger, I swore that I would never allow her to get lost in front of a screen. I had grown up knowing that spending time watching TV and later on your phone or laptop was anything but good. But with time, and especially this year, I came to learn that screen time isn’t necessarily bad. It has enabled me to work, learn and explore things that I would otherwise never have had an opportunity to explore.

With the closure of schools because of the coronavirus pandemic, screen time became a source of learning and entertainment. It enabled my daughter to connect with friends and family who she wouldn’t otherwise have seen or spoken to. My perspective on screen time changed. 

Parenting in the tech age is almost synonymous with one type of screen or the other. The age when children get phones or tablets gets less and less. Whether you’re allowing your child to use a phone, tablet or laptop as a form of entertainment, for online learning or to distract them long enough for you to get some chores done, this is how to ensure it benefits the two of you.

1. Engage

Just as you would participate in traditional forms of learning and play, be a part of your child’s screen time. Involvement here can be in the form of asking questions about what they’re watching or the game they are playing. Draw connections between the game or show with things they’ve learned or experienced in the past. When you hear a song or conversation that piques your interest, pause and talk to your child about what is happening. Get them thinking beyond just the screen. Screen time can be the chance you’ve been looking for to bond with your child especially during the busy work week.

2. Learning opportunities

The internet is chock-full of learning opportunities. These can be in the form of games, courses and even movies and documentaries. Let’s face it, there are moments when your child asks something and you have no clue. Instead of saying, “I don’t know”, go online and look for an answer. Invite your child to join you as you do your research. Use this opportunity to learn new things, take photos and share them with family members. Kids learn better with visual aids so make use of your phone and Google’s reverse image search, pronunciation and related options to explore a wide variety of topics.

Like with many things in the world, managing the use of screens is important. Even with the benefits of screen time, have set times when your child has access to gadgets, monitor what they’re doing online and teach them how to behave appropriately online. 

Bear in mind that there’s no shame in allowing your child some screen time. Media and technology can be used for good.