Often I delight in chatting with our students about their interests and passions. Recently a few conversations have gravitated to the screen time and games they play. I found it a little worrying with the depth of knowledge around games that are rated MA 15+ or R and contain highly inappropriate subjects. When students start to mimic the actions, language and themes in the school environment with friends, especially those friends that are not privy to these types of games, it is quite disturbing. It’s differentiating between fantasy and reality where the lines can become blurred.
The amount of screen time seems to be increasing amongst primary students. The Australian Parents Council Inc recommends that children aged 5-17 should have less than 2 hours per day. It also says that they should only use age appropriate sites with high learning potential and not games. It adds that devices should only be in areas that parents can keep an eye on what they are viewing; put a time limit on sessions; and to avoid just-before-bed screen time (about an hour before bed) as it can be over stimulating and disturb sleep.
These are guidelines but they are there to protect our young and to support them in socialising positively with their peers. As we approach the April holidays, it’s easy to default to increased screen time. Hopefully, as we leave daylight saving time this weekend, there will still be some lovely Autumn days for outside play before we hit the winter months.
Have a wonderful Easter Season and holiday time.
Kathy