HappiNest Family

Screen time: Is it really bad for your child?

Screentime has dominated humanity since the existence of television. Screentime here refers to time spent in front of a digital screen, such as computer monitors, laptops, television and hand phones. With the recent surge in digital media advancements, time is increasingly spent in front of a digital screen for various activities that span from education to leisure.

A quick google search would reveal many articles that talk about the many evils of screentime for children, both physically and mentally. For instance, it promotes obesity, gives rise to mental health issues and damages a child’s cognitive development. But, is screentime really that bad for kids? HappiNest Family decided to examine the latest research findings on the health effects of screentime on children and adolescent.

Last year, Stiglic & Viner published an important umbrella review paper in BMJ which looked at the effects of screentime on the health and well-being of children and adolescents. So what’s the big deal about this paper? And why umbrella? An umbrella review examines a whole bunch of systematic reviews. Each systematic review examines multiple individual studies to obtain a collective result which has credibility and strength if done properly. Therefore, findings from an umbrella review would thus be even more credible and strong! So what does the evidence say about screentime? We’ve summarised the important points in a table below.

Source: Stiglic N, Viner RM. Effects of screentime on the health and well-being of children and adolescents: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Open 2019;9:e023191. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023191

Health concerns	Type of screen time	Is there evidence of an association?	Important remarks
Overweight, obesity	Television	Moderately strong evidence.	Low evidence for infants.
Overweight, obesity	Computer and overall screen time	Insufficient evidence.	Few studies with inconsistent evidence
Unhealthy diet	Television	Moderate evidence	Overweight/obese kids being more susceptible to higher food intake compared to normal weight kids)
Unhealthy diet	Computer screentime	Weak evidence
Depression	Overall screen time	Moderately strong evidence	Curvilinear relationship between screentime and depressive symptoms; i.e. less depression with more screentime until a certain point where more screentime increases depression.
Depression	Social media screen time	Weak
Poor quality of life	Overall screen time	Moderate
Other mental health outcomes (e.g. behavioural problems, anxiety, poor psychosocial health, hyperactivity, attention deficit)	Overall screen time	Weak	Weak evidence largely due to lack of studies rather than weak associations
Metabolic syndrome	Overall screen time	Weak
Poorer cardiorespiratory fitness	Overall screen time	Weak
Poorer cognitive development and lower educational attainments	Television screen time	Weak, except among infants whereby television screentime had no benefits and was harmful to cognitive development.
Poor sleep outcomes.	Overall screen time	Weak
Eating disorder symptoms	Overall screen time	No clear evidence
Suicidal ideation	Overall screen time	No clear evidence
Cardiovascular risk	Overall screen time	No clear evidence
Asthma	Overall screen time	No clear evidence
Pain	Overall screen time	No clear evidence

Credible evidence is available to link screentime with only a few health concerns; i.e. body fat build up, an unhealthy diet, depression and poorer quality of life.

But is screentime unrelated to the other health concerns listed? Have we been over estimating the harms of screen time? Not really so. The review did mention that most individual studies had several limitations. Most studies focused on looking at time spent looking at the screen but not the quality or type of content viewed, which could affect behaviour. For instance, playing violent games daily increases an adolescent’s risk of depression ². Moreover, most studies looked at television screentime, but lesser attention on other types of screentime such as mobile devices, video games or social media, which are actually more modern forms of screen use¹. Therefore, until more high quality and relatable studies are available, how screentime affects these other health issues will still be in question.

Nevertheless, even with current findings, it is clear that uncontrolled screentime is bad for your child. Moderation and parental guidance is key to ensure healthy doses of screentime. Here are some links which you can visit to learn how to manage your child’s screen time. Take care!

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/screentime-teens.html#:~:text=The%20American%20Academy%20of%20Pediatrics,cards%20on%20a%20smartphone%20app).

https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/entertainment-technology/screen-time-healthy-screen-use/managing-screen-time-teens

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/screen-time/art-20047952

References:

1) Stiglic N, Viner RM. Effects of screentime on the health and well-being of children and adolescents: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Open 2019;9:e023191. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023191

2) Tortolero SR, Peskin MF, Baumler ER, et al. Daily violent video game playing and depression in preadolescent youth. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2014;17(9):609‐615. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0091

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5 tips to switch from traditional to home schooling during a pandemic

Stay at home! This is the plight that many governments globally are echoing to keep citizens safe from the COVID-19 virus. The recent Coronavirus pandemic has certainly changed the way we live in the new normal, and education has not been spared.

Children in countries badly affected by the virus outbreak find themselves stuck at home as schools are closed. As they rejoice over the unexpected windfall in holidays, parents are most probably concerned about their kid’s education. Stuck in the same house and being concerned, parents might be drawn to the idea of home schooling their kids while waiting for school to reopen.

However, ambitious parents may find themselves stressed out or anxious over this “new normal” way of teaching their kids. Home schooling may suddenly seem like venturing into space, where boundless possibilities exist, but getting lost along the way. So how do you make sure you and your kids can safely explore this educational space together safely and happily? Here’s some tips that we would like to share.

1. Be flexible and explore different models for your child

In terms of practicality, it would seem convenient and tempting to follow the original syllabus back in school, while replicating similar teaching styles and routines practiced by the traditional school system. This is actually a home schooling method in itself, known as School-at-home. But be aware that home schooling can extend beyond familiarity. In fact, various home-schooling methods exist which could be customised to suit your child’s personality.

If your child loves to read, you may consider taking a look at classical methods or Charlotte Mason methods of teaching. If you would like to immerse your child in a stimulating environment which emphasizes experiential learning and fostering creativity, check out Montesori teaching methods. Unit studies approaches learning in a unit based way, integrating various subjects together while learning on a particular unit or area (e.g. learning the history of Egypt while studying the Pythagoras theorem). Eclectic education offers flexibility by mixing and matching different types of home schooling methods to fit the learning style of a child. It leverages on the advantages of other teaching methods, which makes it one of the most popular methods available.

So be brave and explore. Who knows, you might discover the perfect match to educate and bring out the best in your child during this period.

2. Don’t be over ambitious

With the liberties associated with home schooling, there may be tendencies to believe that more study hours equals smarter kids. Such perceptions can lead to stressful experiences for both child and parent. Understand that not everything needs to be completed in the syllabus that you set out to tackle during this lock down period. Go in with a plan, but aim to cover essentials first. Set milestones and priorities. Keep in mind to always gauge your child’s individual capability.

Also remember to take enough breaks in between lessons. If a child is struggling to understand or comprehend a topic, you can always revisit it later. Let the child’s subconscious mind work things through. Don’t over push them. A stressed parent that is trying too hard to teach can exude negative emotions that can easily stress a child. A stressed child is an unhappy child. An unhappy child is a disinterested and dispassionate student.

3. Conducive space

It may be convenient to just conduct lessons right on your kitchen table or dining room. Although practical, it would help tremendously if there was a space in your home where teaching and learning can be conducive. This could be a space where you can place a whiteboard to teach, cabinets to store books, a computer that is plugged in to the internet, and maybe some posters or family photos that spread positive vibes. Furniture used should be of appropriate height for your child to ensure they do not strain themselves while studying. Chairs and tables should be strategically placed for your child’s comfort when seated.

Lighting is also equally important to avoid eyes getting strained. Try to get as much natural light as you can to light up the space as natural light tends to bring warmness and vitality to the space and user. Additionally, ensure that the space is free from noise or disruptive activities that may distract your child (e.g. cooking, traffic, television, etc.). Having all these arrangements would help keep a child’s mind calmer to boost concentration and absorb learned materials effectively.

4. Create a schedule

Although a child at home is no longer bounded by a proper class schedule, it would be helpful to maintain a schedule at home to promote good study habits and a regular routine. The only difference is this schedule can be tailored. Tailored here means you have the liberty to decide when does your child start studying, take breaks, and end classes. This should be customised to suit a child’s natural circadian rhythm. For instance, if your child is a night owl, it would be good to start classes later in the day, as opposed to a child who is a morning lark.

Schedules should also be flexible to give your child some choices to decide what they would like to study at different times of the day. Your child may want non-academic tasks or subjects which require less critical thinking in the morning, but desire mentally challenging subjects in the afternoon. Having such customised schedules gives an edge to a child’s daily learning capability.

5. Network and be resourceful

Being stuck at home doesn’t mean you are isolated. If there are subjects which are tough to handle, there is always useful educational resources online that you can tap on to help your child. Networking with your local home school groups online is also a practical way to seek help and guidance. Educating your child at home should never be a lonely journey.

Conclusion

We hope you find all these tips helpful for you and your child. It is definitely a challenging period at this moment in time. However, humans have always been adaptive and resilient towards adverse situations, and this is definitely reflected when educating our kids in the new normal. Learning doesn't have to stop, it only changes and evolves to be even better. Stay safe everyone!

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Welcome to HappiNest Family!

Hi there! Thank you so much for dropping by to our website! Wondering what HappiNest Family is? Well, we're actually affiliated to HappiNest Games, a tabletop game publishing company (click on the logo to visit our Facebook page).

HappiNest Games publishes family games that have social or educational values. Apart from bringing fun and laughter into homes, the company also aims to raise happy and healthy families all around the world. The company thus advocates sharing of knowledge in all aspects related to family upbringing, education, and even family games. Therefore, HappiNest Family was set up to support the company's mission. We hope that sharing such knowledge will benefit families all over.

So if you're looking for various perspectives on raising your child, learning how to have quality time with your family, or even looking for games to play with them, then you've come to the right place! Sign up to our newsletter to stay updated! Thank you!