In days gone by, avoiding screen time was easy – especially when you consider that more often than not, there was only one screen in the house. Today, however, with all the tablets, laptops, computers, and phones, screens often outnumber people in most households today.
This makes the debate about whether screen time is good or bad rather tricky because it’s basically unavoidable – unless you want to pack up and live in the mountains or stop watching your favourite Netflix shows. Don’t worry, we have some good news for you; not all screen time is bad for children – keep reading to find out why.
Choose the content
Seeing that screen time is essentially unavoidable, you need to change your perspective. Start by looking at cartoons like food (stick with us here). There is food that is good for you and food that is bad for you, which is why we try to make better choices when we eat. The same approach should be used when it comes to screen time. Choosing the right content is akin to choosing fruit as a snack instead of a chocolate bar – if you’re going to eat it, it may as well be something healthy.
For example, there are a number of great free kids cartoons for boys and girls available on YouTube. These cartoons are more than just entertainment as they seek to educate your kids in the following areas:
Important life lessons:
In today’s world of video games and virtual reality, books don’t quite have the same appeal that they used to. The problem is that these books have long been the go-to source of important life lessons for children. The good news, however, is that this is where screen time can help. Cartoons can be used to teach your children these important lessons such as honesty, sharing, and how to be more compassionate. These cartoons will engage your kids, and keep their attention so they can take these essential lessons in.
Positive Role Models:
Try as you might, you’re not always going to get it right (don’t worry, that’s not a bad thing – you’re only human). This is why kids need as many positive role models as possible, and cartoons can help. The main characters of these shows will solve problems, make friends, and grow over the course of every episode – all the while, teaching your kids how to do the same. Your kids will look to emulate their favourite characters, and try to repeat their good behaviour.
Tools for expression:
Despite our best efforts, our kids can often feel like we don’t understand them. This is in part because they aren’t able to express themselves and also because they forget that you too were once their age. Many of the characters in cartoons will go through similar emotions and problems that your kids will experience, and show them how to communicate their feelings in these situations.
Final thoughts
As you can see, screen time is not as bad as you originally thought! So, the next time that you want to put some cartoons on, you can do so knowing that you’re doing something positive for your children.
