Children who should have been spending a major part of their day at school, are now glued to the screens for their online classes. Chitman Kaur shares effective ways to engage kids' time productively

Parenting is tough and a long pandemic has made it tougher. Parents end up spending a full working day around children due to the current work-from-home arrangements. The nature and mode of work no longer allow them to control their usage of mobile and laptops. Work hours have also extended, leaving little time to spend mindfully with children. Kids who should have been spending a major part of their day at schools and parks are now glued to the screens for their online school and often lack other options. Their real physical world of learning and expression has shrunk to Zooms and Google-meets for online school and their day is filled with hours of fast-paced videos. In this new normal, screens are becoming an acceptable part of daily routine and are resulting in challenging behaviours that could have short-term and long-term impacts.

We all know that children and screens are not made for each other. Children are meant to play and we all need to pause so we can choose wisely on how to engage our kids' time productively. When faced with such a difficult-looking situation, one of the best ways is to talk to them about the challenge and together come up with a win-win solution.

Plan daily schedule of your child

Children love predictability and depending on their age can be involved in the plan. Often we are surprised at how beautifully they follow a plan which they ‘think’ is made by them. To start with, negotiate an acceptable screen-time schedule in the weekly planner and make sure both parent and the child stick to it. Timely sleep and proper diet should be part of this schedule too.

Keep a fun activity planned for the weekend

Based on the child’s interests, we can create weekend fun activities that the child can look forward to. It is important to keep the activity screen free and build up excitement for it. There is no need for elaborate arrangements. Simplicity works wonders; a board game night, music composition without actual instruments, treasure hunt for a book name, cooking together and so many more. There is no end to possibilities but if you are still lost, just think about how you spent your childhood and create that magic around it.

Share stories about your childhood

Children love to hear about our childhood. Sharing stories about our own journeys and the wonderful fun ways we grew up always has a great impact. Listening to these stories deepen our bond with our kids, and makes conversations and stories an important part of our lives. Many stories can often be created to help a child with the challenges they are facing and help them navigate an acceptable solution. Stories are powerful and can help everyone unwind beautifully and often leaves a lasting impact on critical thinking, vocabulary as well as oral form of self-expression.

Use technology in the right way

Not all technology is bad. However, we need to choose wisely. Exposure to face paced videos with high volume that children are glued too like zombies are a definite no. Engaging children with technology that enables them to day-dream, think deeply and promote self-expression can have a positive impact. Technological solutions aimed for parents with a bank of engaging ideas are also always welcome. 

Be consistent and firm

To start this journey towards a ‘screen-free’ childhood, the first step is to believe that screen-free childhood is possible. We, as parents, need to believe that we can achieve this even in a pandemic-hit time. And like any other habit, consistency is the key. All we have to do is to walk this journey step by step and find our right balance and just stick to it. And when things get crazy and we need strength, we can always remember our screen-free childhood and wonders around it.

(The writer is the founder of a screen-free audio app for children.)