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Managing Screen Time: Balancing Digital Exposure for Young Children

In today’s technology driven world, both adults and children are becoming increasingly dependent on digital gadgets for their personal and work-related needs. While digital exposure is essentially unavoidable, even for young children, it is integral to ensure that there’s a healthy balance between on and off screen time in day to day life.

This is a collaborative post

In this blog, we’re going to look at the importance and drawbacks of having screen time for young children.

Understanding The Importance Of Screen Time

Building a healthy relationship with screens and the internet as a whole is an integral part of balancing digital exposure for young children. To evaluate the impact of screen time on the younger audience, let’s first look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of having screen time:

Benefits Of Screen Time

It Facilitates Learning: When used strategically, time spent on screens can help facilitate learning in young children, when used for research, be it in the form of reading age-appropriate articles or watching educational videos.

It Enhances Creativity: More knowledge opens up avenues for young children to explore their creativity and apply it in real life.

It Promotes Socialisation: Appropriate usage of screen time, especially in classrooms and for group projects is a great way for young children to socialize with their peers and form friendships.

Drawbacks Of Screen Time

Risk To Physical Health: Exposure to digital screens for a long period of time can reduce the physical activity in children, leading to a sedentary lifestyle and physical ailments.

Negative Impact On Mental Health: Extended amounts of time watching screens has been proven to cause negative impact on the well-being of both adults and young children, with the resultant depression, anxiety and other mental health issues being more severe in youngsters in their formative years.

Decreased Life Satisfaction: Unmanaged screen time can distort the vision of children, and take them away from hobbies and other activities that they can instead enjoy offline, leading to an unsatisfactory lifestyle.

two children having screen time lying on a bed watching a laptop
Photo by Ivan Samkov

5 Ways To Manage Your Young Children’s Screen Time

Here are five ways to manage your children’ screen time and balance their digital exposure:

Install Parental Controls

Setting boundaries around screen time starts with choosing the right parental control applications. Using parental control tools is a great way to manage how much time your children spend online. Moreover, it can also be used to block any and all inappropriate content across all the devices in your home. This can drastically reduce the digital exposure for young children, and give you an opportunity to be more involved with your child’s online activities.

Use A Virtual Private Network

A virtual private network or a VPN is a secure digital connection between your digital devices and the internet. A secure VPN can mask your IP address, encrypt your data, and make your data private. Using a VPN is a great way to protect your children’s privacy. Moreover, it helps you balance your child’s digital exposure by offering them a safer online environment.

Walk The Talk

Managing your young children’s screen time starts by first showing them how you manage your screen time. Setting good examples around how they should conduct themselves and how they should spend their time online can be a great way to set expectations and rules around screen time. It will also be easier to make them understand the need for balanced digital exposure when they see you doing the same.

Encourage Digital Literacy

Encouraging your children to ask important questions around the internet, how to use it, and ways to make their experience better can help them set boundaries around how they want to use their screen time. By offering knowledgeable answers to their curious minds, you can help them build a healthy relationship with digital gadgets and make it easier for them to manage their own screen time with responsibility.

Find Trusted Malware Protection

Last but not least, having a trusted malware protection in place can make it easy for you to let go of the worries around what your child is doing online, and focus more on building value around responsible use of their screen time. Having an antivirus for Android, iOS, PC, and all other digital gadgets can protect your child from inappropriate content and phishing scams, especially at an age where explaining these terms might be hard. Since many malware protection tools come equipped with child locks, having limited access to the internet can contribute to reducing the screen time for your young children.

Final Thoughts

While being available online is a necessity in today’s digital world, even for young children, approaching screen time with a balanced mindset is essential to deter the effects of excessive screen time and instead make the best use of the technology at your disposal.

By teaching your children from a young age about having a healthy relationship with the internet, and showcasing the right attitude towards your relationship with digital screens and gadgets can help you manage your children’s screen time properly.

How did I do?

Did you enjoy this post? If so, you should check out more of the ‘usual’ type of stuff I write. Honest, relatable rants about parenting three young boys. With a touch of swearing and a lot of sarcasm. You’ll like it! Check out my Mum Life section or head to my Travel Section for some UK family holiday and days out inspiration.

If you like a bit of social media madness, pop over to my Facebook page where you’ll be able to have a laugh at what ridiculousness goes on in my house with three boys on a daily basis. Warning – there is often sarcasm, and usually swearing. There are also great travel reviews and the odd giveaway. Feel free to join my Twins, Tantrums and Cold Coffee – Shits and Giggles Parenting Group too, where everyone shares their hilarious stories.

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And if you want to work with me, feel free to give me a shout at helen@twinstantrumsandcoldcoffee.com and I’ll get back to you.

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