Screen Time
Parenting in the Digital Age – Interview with Shem
These days, it is no surprise to see young children with technological gadgets like smartphones and tablets in their hands, engrossed in the games and videos that they are playing and watching. We spoke with parents about their children who are growing up with these technological gadgets.
INTERVIEW WITH SHEM (Father of a 2½-year-old boy)
Q: Do you allow your son to use any technological gadgets?
A: Yes, I let my son use the iPad we have at home once a day, typically for about 30 to 45 minutes per day.
Q: Your son is 2½ years old, why do you allow him to use the iPad at such a young age?
A: It’s mainly because my wife is currently expecting. Sometimes, she doesn’t feel well and needs to take a rest. So, when there’s nobody around to take care of my boy, the iPad would be one of the best ways to keep him engaged and occupied for a while. He usually watches videos like Chuggington, Little Einstein, Pocoyo and Pororo.
Q: When was the first time you exposed your son to the iPad?
A: He was first exposed to it when he was about 11 to 12 months old. We felt that he was at an appropriate age to watch some kids’ programmes, so we decided to let him watch them on the iPad. He was quite excited and intrigued by it since it was something new for him. Even now, when he watches television, he is still very intrigued and focuses on what he’s watching.
Q: These gadgets can keep a child occupied for a very long time. How do you then help your child to balance the time he spends on and off the iPad?
A: He’s still young so rather than helping him to balance, we are more directive and just say no. We have been minimizing the amount of time he spends on the iPad as much as possible- even up to 20 minutes because he might have already spent about 10 to 15 minutes on it earlier in the day. No matter what, we keep his iPad usage to a maximum of 30 minutes per day and we cut off the time when necessary.
Of course, there are times when he would protest and refuse to stop using it when we have already said no. But, we still take it away from him even if he throws tantrums and we handle the situation with discipline because we don’t allow tantrums in the house.
Q: Has he ever asked you for the iPad?
A: Yes, but he only asks out of habit. Usually, after he has had his nap and tea break, that’s when my wife will let him watch videos on the iPad. So naturally, my son will ask for it during those times. Other than that, he won’t ask us for it and even if he did, we wouldn’t give it to him.
Q: What is your biggest concern about your son being attached to technology?
A: I think my biggest concern is that he’s not able to put it down to do something else. Thankfully, he has shown that he is able to engage in other forms of media entertainment too. Recently, when we brought him to the clinic for his check-up, the clinic was showing an old cartoon, Little Mermaid. The rest of the kids around him were playing with iPads, but he was not bothered at all. To him, the cartoon was more interesting. He does ask for the iPad sometimes, but I don’t think he is the type who must have the iPad to play with.
Q: If you could turn back time, would you choose not to introduce the gadgets to your son when he was 11 to 12 months old?
A: No, not really. I’d probably still introduce it to him at that age. I don’t think introducing technological gadgets to young kids is a bad thing. You and your child just need to know how to manage it. When my son was at that age, we only gave him about 5 to 10 minutes, maximum of 15 minutes per day to play with the iPad. During that period, it wasn’t even a daily thing; more like sporadic exposure when we want to let him take a look at some pictures only. And at that time, we didn’t allow him to watch videos on the iPad at all.
Q: What advice would you give to parents who want to introduce such gadgets to their children?
They don’t have to introduce it to their kids unless absolutely necessary, which is different for everyone. For example, if the parents have to attend to something else or are in need of some rest, then using the iPad to occupy the children for a while is fine. Of course, using the iPad with supervision would be best. Parents should still have some form of engagement with the children while they use the iPad.
Parents should also be very careful of how the kids look at it and play with it. Researchers recommend that there should be zero screen time for anyone below 2 years old, including tablets, smartphone and television that tend to be too stimulating for them. Children who are not exposed to such devices, on the other hand, are often engaged more easily by craft, storybooks, etc. So, try to minimize and limit the time your kids spend with the gadgets as much as possible until they are 2 or 3 years old.
