Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 11-11-2019

(Twitter: @FaizelPatel143)

With the December holidays just around the corner, many kids will be looking forward to the break.

While that’s great news for the kids, for those of us who’re still at work for another three or four weeks after they break up it can be excruciating because, how do we keep them entertained for over six weeks? And, when we’re not around to supervise, who knows how many hours they’ll spend in front of the television watching series, movies and playing games?

If your reality is that you need to be at work, and outdoor play for the kids isn’t feasible until you return home, or go on leave, then make sure you have a screen time management system in place.

High tech company Skyworth’s brand manager Jaco Joubert says too much screen time is a stress many parents face.

“Unfortunately, when it comes to the holidays, more screen time is unavoidable. However, there are ways to manage screen time, without removing TV from the equation completely.”

Joubert provides the following tips to help you manage your family’s screen time these upcoming holidays:

Establish cut off or set times:

Rather than prescribing an amount of ‘screen time’, give kids precise quantities and clear cut-off points. Tell them, “You can play two FIFA matches” or “You can watch two episodes of your favourite show on Netflix. This prevents them entering the ‘state of insufficiency’ where they never feel ‘done’ or ‘complete’ when they’re in front of the screen.

What’s important to note is that Skyworth’s S9A OLED TV is literally easy on the eyes. The blue light emitted from screens can, over time, cause eye problems such as retinal injury, myopia and cataracts. However, OLED doesn’t need backlight, thereby minimising the harm of blue-light hazard and making it the best choice for your family, especially the little ones.

The eye protection mode of an ordinary LCD TV is at the expense of picture quality. The colour is too warm and yellow, but it can’t reduce all the harmful blue light effects.

Appropriate apps:

Help your child make good app choices. There are so many fun educational apps, that your child won’t even know they’re learning. The S9A, being an Android TV, means you have access to the entire Google Play Store.

Skyworth’’s Android TVs give users access to a world of content as opposed to a manufacturer’s choice of content. The Google Play Store currently offers approximately 30 000 apps and increases daily. Plus, the Android TV’s operating system is upgradeable, including all the apps on the Google Play Store. This means you can keep up with the best in apps, games and entertainment as and when they’re available in the country, without having to fork out on a new device. Think of it as a TV with the same capabilities as your smartphone, just bigger, better and clearer.

Go outside:

If you’re not leaving the city for the holidays, why not arrange some outdoor family fun days in your own hometown? Take them somewhere new or even somewhere they love going. By distracting them and placing them in a new environment, they won’t even think about wanting to use devices or turn on the TV.

Face-to-face conversation:

Stress the importance of talking it out in real life. Engage your kids in fun and productive conversations to remind them that family time can still be fun. Making a habit of eating dinner as a family around the table is an easy way to schedule in face-to-face conversation, instead of huddling behind Netflix – do that after dinner on your S9A OLED TV!

Set a good example

If you’re constantly plugged, the message you’re sending your kids is unfortunately not a healthy one. By finding more ways to press the pause button, it shows children the importance of connecting face-to-face and spending time doing activities away from screens. Never doubt the importance of a good old digital detox.