Many parents are afraid their children will become addicted to screens during their long stay at home, but the expertise explains how you can keep them

• Don't argue with the kids about screen time

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In many homes, it's a matter of fact, the kids sit for hours in front of the screens. When should you limit and how to make screen time a positive and empowering option during your stay at home? Nirit Tsuk, a child and youth culture research expert and Dr. Shelley Geffen, a lecturer and expert on screen generation at the Open University, point out that everything is about proper dosage, proper supervision, and especially what content children are exposed to on screens and not the amount of screen time.

"I hear parents tell me they're afraid the kids will become addicted to screens, and they find themselves arguing with the kids about being on screens for a long time," says Tsuk. "This is not the time to measure how long the children are in front of the screen when they are forced to stay indoors. You have to understand and recognize first that there is currently no way to go to study, no classes, no youth movements and we are not in a regular period, so the rules we were used to during the year limit the screen time. , Don't fit right now. "

Tsuk adds that, "Parents also cannot be creative all day creating works with the children, cooking, baking with them and reading stories to them. While we are together at home, we must look at what can be done with the same technology and screen time."

She says it is worth taking advantage of the advances that technology advances have to offer. "Both the children and the adults who are forced to be in the home or inactivity at home can take this time and learn a new language through the screen, expanding horizons. If the child is interested in science for example, it should be exposed more to the topic, it can be improved and strengthened in English, account and more. "

Tsuk recommends that, "Instead of sitting with a stopwatch and measuring how long your kids sit in front of the screen, arguing and quarreling, be interested in what your child likes to see, what series interests him and see her together, and if it's YouTube, which YouTube is a fan and what's special about it. Being a YouTube person can be photographed and showcase the talent your child has. Interest will draw you closer and develop dialogue, an important and good dialogue. "

Reducing the age gap

Dr. Geffen points out that the state of our being forced to shut down at home 24/7 requires us to communicate with the world through the screens more than was the case before the Corona crisis. And technology has an important role to play in helping us. "Technology allows us to work from home, work through meetings Apps that help us, buy and order things at home, catch up and communicate through the screen, including seeing Grandpa and Grandma remotely. "

She said, "For the children, the realities that are not particularly difficult for them are used to communicating through the screens and living on screen. They upload videos, talk to friends through the cellphone and even watch series through it. While many parents find themselves having trouble getting along with communication and learning remotely," Dr. Geffen explains: "This is the opportunity to ask the older children and youth for help and to learn new technological options that your children know, and you the older ones do not."

Dr. Geffen suggests that every day, every member of the family propose an activity that he initiates, and the parent and the rest of the family will integrate. It can be a box game or a video game, the main thing is to spend family time together. "Everyone may be in his room with the screen and his preferences, and so there is no Quarrels and silence, but then we gained nothing, with each one isolated in his affairs. Conversely, if we enjoy a joint activity related to screen time with them, this is our opportunity to get to know the young people's world, to come closer and also have fun. "

Highlights for proper behavior with screens:

Set boundaries of daily learning screen times - " Set aside what kind of activities to do in front of a screen at a time, for example, from 10am to 12pm. Children sit in front of a computer as part of distance learning. Even if the child has no school assignments, it is important to allocate about two hours a day to learning, If the children love screens, learning materials can be found on various websites that are appropriate for your child's age and level. "

Free time is set for screens - during this time children can choose what they want . "They can play, browse, watch a series or movie of their choice, but with your intention and supervision. For example, if they see a series then check out which series and the content is appropriate for their age. If it's YouTube videos then target videos that might teach them something extra, and separate It's been screen time with friends, it's a separate time. "

Screen time for social connections - According to Dr. Geffen, since the children do not go to school, have no classes and do not go to meetings in the garden with their peers, it is important at this time to leave them the opportunity to meet and talk between them via cellphone and computer. " Enable this, and set screen time for communicating with friends. "