Make Screentime Count

Parents, are you aware that not all screen time is bad?

Recent research suggests that the potential impact of digital screen interaction appears to be smaller than initially assumed. For example, a study conducted by Oxford and Cardiff Universities reveals that children who engage in one to two hours of TV watching or digital device use experience, have better social and emotional well-being. Moreover, other factors related to digital engagement, such as WHAT your child is seeing and the degree to which caregivers moderate their usage, are far more important.

Such research challenges the prevalent notion that screen time is universally harmful for our children. It is also believed that in recent decades, the ability to function effectively in a society may necessitate a certain amount of screen time. As a parent, I also give my 6-year-old screen time. And whenever I do, I try as much as possible to give it in moderation and make it useful, yet not take away the fun element for her. I try my best to research about the apps’ usefulness, safety, the pros, and cons, before I download it and make it available to her.

Over the past years, I have found some useful and not so useful apps. Below I list the top 5 apps that are currently working well for my 6-year-old.

1. Khan Academy

I have had the Khan Academy app since my daughter was three years old, and so far, she still likes it as much! It is a free, fun educational program that includes a wealth of eBooks, learning activities, songs, and videos for your child to learn about numbers, letters, emotions, the world around them. Led by a cast of colorful animal characters, children can learn skills like reading, writing, and problem solving by engaging in drawing, storytelling, and lots of other fun activities. What works well for my daughter is that if she gets tired of responding to learning games, she can easily switch to another activity such as drawing, reading a book, or listening to a song. Their collaboration with National Geographic, BellWether, and Super Simple Songs for their educational content and animations makes the app even more credible to parents and appealing to kids!

2. Crosswords by LiteraGames

We were introduced to this app by my mother who has a passion for crosswords and has been using it for herself! It is a free app with 100+ easy levels that works without internet connection in offline. Because the app has options to choose different levels of difficulty, I can choose a level best suited for my daughter. What I like about it is that if you are stuck, you can get hints easily & take as long as you would like to give answers. These features really help my daughter to complete her crosswords without any pressure of time and competition from other players.

3. Thinkrolls 1

Thinkrolls 1 is a cleverly designed app that introduces children to the early stages of scientific principles. As the name suggests, kids think while they roll, or rather, while a cute ball-shaped character rolls through a variety of mazes and face challenges as they go. It is almost like hands-on physical lessons that has experiments with gravity, heat, buoyancy, speed, elasticity, friction, and other science concepts. What I like about this game is that kids learn hands-on as they try out techniques as many times as necessary, sometimes fail, and then try again without a penalty. Help is not offered, either, allowing kids to problem-solve and discover on their own.

4. MentalUP

MentalUP has more than 60 entertaining brain games. There are memory games to improve learning ability, concentration games that provide focusing, visual games to improve creative thinking and logic games and mind games to enhance thinking and problem-solving skills. The good news is that all these exercises are designed as games, and that appeals to her. What is even better is that parents can monitor their child's development through detailed performance reports. Even though it is a free app, it is a secure playground for kids where there are no ads, redirections, online chat rooms, or addictive elements.

5. ScratchJr.

If you are looking for ways to get your child interested in coding, ScratchJr. is a great place to start. Your kids can be designing their own games and animations in no time without advanced coding knowledge. This app has a simple visual interface that allows kids to create digital stories, games, and animations. Just like most kids, my 6-year-old is obsessed with making her own animation and she is thrilled to find Scratch where she can learn to design her own. And I am thrilled to have her use technology for something productive and educational.

The bottom line: Here is what I feel.

Ultimately, interactive, and healthy screen activities can give your child a learning boost and be creative in the process. However, it is important to note that advocating for the benefits of screen time does not imply unrestricted usage for children. In my opinion, it is important to consider the following:

1.??????There is a time for screens, but not at the expense of time for physical activity and connecting with real people in real time. As Jordan Shapiro, author of The New Childhood: Raising Kids to Thrive in A Connected World rightly explains, rather than limiting your children’s screen time, try providing a balanced mix of additional activities. They must also spend time outdoors, time exercising, time reading books, playing musical instruments etc.

2.??????Try to use apps that are interactive and thought-provoking rather than passive. Technology has a lot to offer children, but the apps you choose to expose your kids to make a difference. Spending more time on a game or app that involves actively making something rather than repetitive actions may help to promote creativity. For example, watching YouTube videos all day is a lot different from building stories and animations on an app. In my article 'Using Technology for (Parent-Child) Shared Book Reading in Early Years' I talk about how parents can use apps to facilitate shared reading with their children.

3.??????Vet the content they are accessing for age-appropriateness, privacy settings, inappropriate content, in-app purchases etc. One of the ways I vet the content is by playing or watching alongside with her. This way, I can vet the content, she learns more from the activity through our interaction, and we bond through the shared experience. Parental controls can also be used to monitor and limit what your child sees and does online, especially when you are not around. My earlier article also discusses how technology is more effective for learning when adults interact or co-view with young children.

Disclaimer: Please make your own judgement about what apps are suitable for your children. Make sure if you use free apps that there is no harmful content finding its way through to your children via advertisements.