Screen Time: How much is ok?

I often get asked by parents, “how much screen time is ok for my kids?”. Well, here’s the thing, when we use the term ‘screen time, it can refer to such a myriad of different ways in which we engage with screens. It is time we reconsidered the generic use of the term ‘screen time, and here’s why. Consider how different the following activities are, that are all loosely categorised as screen time:

• Building an imaginative city in Minecraft collaboratively with their sibling
• Watching “epic fail” videos
• Playing an intense, multiplayer, first-person shooter game
• Watching a Disney film
• Learning a language using an app like Duolingo

As you can see, it is clear that not all screen time is created equal! We need to start reshaping our understanding of screen time to be much more than just several hours per day/week but instead focus more on the type of screen time. Watch the video below as I explain a simple way that you, together with your children, can use the SPIIE challenge to start reflecting on the different types of screen time. From this reflection comes balance, and after all, balance is the key! Guest Contributor: Carley McGauran & Martin McGauran Business Name:  Inform & Empower Publisher: Digital Schools Carley McGauran (renowned as the ‘practical parent psychologist’) together with Martin McGauran (experienced primary school teacher and consultant) founded Inform & Empower. They promote healthy school communities through incursions, teacher professional learning and parent education on a range of topics including cyber safety, wellbeing and readiness for school. For more information visit www.informandempower.com.au ——- PUBLISHER’S DISCLAIMER: The publisher of this blog post (Digital Schools PTY LTD) works in partnership with the school as a 3rd party provider to help build and maintain the school website. Digital Schools sources a range of experts who provide products and/or services to educational institutions and we work with them to produce and publish topical information in the form of blog posts that we think  may be relevant, interesting or topical to families within the community. The views, opinions and content listed in this blog post are that of the guest contributor and/or publisher (Digital Schools). It should be noted that whilst the publisher and guest contributors are acting with the best intentions and in the best interests of the school and their community to provide helpful or interesting information, sometimes the content may not necessarily reflect the views of the school. The information in this blog post is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any medical problem, consult your own physician.  The school and the publisher of this blog post  are not responsible for any person reading or following the information in this article who may experience adverse effects. Any references to external websites or sources are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the school or publisher in any way and the publisher and/or school cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information listed. If you have feedback on any content on this platform, you can submit it to the publisher using the feedback link provided at the bottom of this page.