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• Stressed About Your Child’s Screen Time? Here’s A Solution For You

Whether it’s a tablet or a phone, your child probably has probably spent a considerable duration of time staring at the screen. As parents, we’re naturally concerned about our child’s device-use and this may be a source of stress for some of us. But here’s a solution that’s sure to help moderate your child’s screen time.

When the minutes multiply into hours.

group of little children watching film movie cartoon together on digital tablet and phone. Kids playing with smartphone with friends at home.
When our child grabs the screen to watch a couple of videos or to play a game, we parents know how easy it is for them to get lost in cyberspace. Now, add learning online into the mix and we’ve got our children in front of the screens for the whole day.

Since the lockdown began, it was necessary for our children to take their learning online. This was for good reason and being indoors ensured their safety. The concern however, lies in the amount of time our children would spend staring at the screen. On one hand, we understand the necessity for it, but on the other, we fear our children may become too dependent on their devices.

According to plano’s latest reports, excessive screen time has been shown to cause many detrimental health concerns in the long run. This includes, but is not limited to, myopia, mental health issues like depression, internet addiction disorders, and even posture issues. The consequences are terrifying to imagine, and for parents like ourselves, we wouldn’t want our children to experience any of this.

You may have tried to curb your child’s screen time by confiscating their devices or forced a curfew on them. However, these efforts were met with tantrums and whining. Tuckered out from trying every trick in the book, we sometimes give in to our child’s want for the screen, yet the anxiety still lingers.

The solution to rid you of your screen-related stress.

One of the best ways to help manage your child’s screen time is to create a schedule for them and with them. Let your child have a say about when he/she wants or needs to use the screen. Help them break down what consists of necessary screen time (to do homework, or to video call a teacher for instance), and what consists of desired screen time (to play video games or scroll through social media).

This helps your child better understand his/her own personal needs and wants surrounding screen time. You can then walk through a guided timetable together with your child to come up with an appropriate screen time schedule.

Want a more tech-savvy approach?

You can consider downloading a parental control app like plano into your child’s phone. After all, when it comes to devices, there’s no better way to monitor your child’s device-use than with an app!

You can use the plano app to set device times on your child’s phone. For instance, you can schedule a no-device time during dinner or family-bonding time so that your child will be able to focus on activities away from the screen. The app also reminds your child to take a break from the screens every 30 minutes with device break reminders. During this time, your child won’t be able to use his/her device for 1-2 minutes and can take a quick eye break from the screens.

If your child follows these prompts, he/she earns points which can be used to request for device-free activities in the plano Shop*! There are football classes, pottery lessons, and even board games that they can enjoy from the plano Shop!

Where there’s a will, there’s always a way. And where there is a problem, there’s always a solution. So parents, even if you’re stressed about your child’s screen time today, you can always turn the problem into the solution with plano.

*Only available to Singapore plano users.