Kia ora koutou, 

Term One is an excellent term for our school events that help keep children active and develop a love for being involved in physical activity. The Try Challenge was a great example of this, with children pushing themselves and having fun simultaneously. There must have been some exhausted children at home that night!

It can be a challenge for families today to get children out and about being active, as many experience the struggle to get children off their devices. The Growing Up in New Zealand Longitudinal study showed that 8-year-olds in New Zealand spend, on average, 3 hours on a screen daily. Schools have reported an increase in young children using American accents caused by watching hours of YouTube, as well as an increase in children having shorter attention spans and acting out behaviours seen on a device. I was recently out to dinner and saw babies sitting in front of devices, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

The Ministry of Health has the following recommendations for children's recreational screen time: 

• None at all for children under two years of age 
• Less than one hour per day for children aged two to five 
• Less than two hours per day for children aged five to 17.

Children who spend more time watching screens are more likely to be obese and suffer ill health. Higher screen time kids are also more likely to have lower physical motor skills and may exhibit hyperactivity problems as early as four and a half years old. In the older age band, teens who excessively use the internet and social media have been linked to poor mental well-being, impaired cognition and unhealthy sleep- The Parenting Place

Device time can be addictive as it increases dopamine levels in the brain. Children’s brains are not developed enough to draw themselves away from the intenseness of the screen. It’s up to us as adults to help them pull away from the screen by putting boundaries in place and getting the children outdoors and active. Being out in nature reduces stress, and being away from a device improves concentration. ‘The Parenting Place’ recommends setting up family routines that include being outdoors and active daily. 

Older children are also quite tech-savvy, and sometimes their social media usage goes under the radar. Children can easily create multiple accounts on social media platforms, and we quite quickly become disconnected as parents from what our children do online. The internet and social media are not safe for children to explore at a young age, and once they are old enough, they need to be monitored. There are safeguards we can put in place as parents by firstly checking the age guidelines for the apps, checking the parental controls and then monitoring device time usage through a parents control app. Parental control apps can be downloaded onto your phone, protecting children from inappropriate content and limiting screen time. Having open access to your child’s accounts and avoiding children using devices in their bedrooms are also strategies to keep our children safe online. 

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Ngaa mihi,

Nyree Olliver