In this technology cranked up age, we have all been brainwashed to believe TV and video games are as evil as an enormous pimple on your wedding day. If we are to believe common thought, the onslaught of electronics will rot your children’s brains, make them socially backward and leave them glued to the couch forever more – annihilating society as know it. Hold up! Are we all just a bunch of boneheads for thinking this? We think perhaps it’s time to say goodbye to the fear-mongers as we share five ways screen time is actually GOOD for your kids.
1. It’s All About the Co-viewing
OK so dumping your kids in front of the boob tube as a babysitter for hours on end is clearly as smart as a bulldog chewing on a wasp, but according to a report by The Joan Hanz Cooney Center, co-viewing in terms of both the TV platform, and other digital platforms has social, emotional and educational benefits; helping to increase learning and discussion, reduce fear and aggression, not to mention being a good excuse for some precious snuggle time.
So rather than you mindlessly staring at the screen like you’re ten shy of a dozen (hey, we know you’re not really), ask them about what they are seeing on the screen, where else they have seen it, the behavior of the characters they are watching, etc. In other words, TALK ABOUT IT. The key here is television as an active, (rather than a rotting sack of potatoes), experience.
And if you don’t have time to co-view with them? Ask them about the show afterward, what the characters did, how they felt, which was their favorite part and so on. It ain’t rocket science after all.
2. OMG! Video Games Make Your Kids Better Adjusted??!
This statement may sound as nutty as a fruitcake, but Holy Guacamole it is so! Playing video games reportedly does make your kids better adjusted. What??! We all thought playing video games turned them into mindless, dribbling, socially malfunctioning, indoor-dwelling zombie freaks? How can this be true?! A recent study Oxford University found that kids that played up to an hour of video games a day between the ages of 10 – 15 were happier, more sociable and less hyperactive. Well, slap us silly.
by MindMake via MindMake Blog
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