Screen time... That's kind of not screen time
Our children are energetic, creative and excitable individuals who no longer have the opportunity to roam and play as much as they used to. Now that our families are restricted to our own homes, keeping the kids engaged all day is a tricky - and tiring - task.
For some of us this time together is a happy time with minimum conflict, for others, your day could sound like your reenacting the opening scene from the goonies and you’re wondering which kid is going to break the first object of the day. Now just throw in two parents working from home and you have a recipe for potential armageddon, the precursor to divorce and threatening to sell your kids to the circus.
Being the wonderful and caring parents that we all are, we are concerned about the negative effect screen time does on our precious little one’s development. Yet not all of us are able to devote the necessary time and energy to keeping our young ones entertained and engaged all day, every day.
For those times where we are confined to our homes, be it bad weather, sickness going around, or simply because you have to earn and work from home, there are some wonderful screen-time based activities out to truly educate and provide interaction with our kids.
Recent studies now show that it is not the amount of time a child spends on a device but the quality of the T.V programme the child is engaged with. Websites and programmes that allow for interaction to occur can help language development, can teach fine motor skills and are super fun and highly entertaining.
Follow this up with spending some quality non-screentime with your kids and it will all balance out in the end
Being in lockdown with our kids doesn’t have to be a battle and so take the weight off your shoulders with these brilliantly educational, interactive and entertaining screen-based activities including podcasts for kids.
Screen time For Kids That are Kind of Not Screen Time
These are 15 of my kids favourite screen time activities that are kind of not screen time, ie screen activities that involve movement, interaction or just kind of keep my kids chill, rather than crazy
Awesome kid-friendly yoga sessions that are based on stories and movies your kids will already know. Mindfulness exercises too.
Daily audiobook read by David Walliams himself! You may have already read his book "The Worlds Worst Children" but it's great hearing the stories narrated by him
We love the Nanogirl kitchen science cookbook and her daily online science sessions are great!
Movement and Mindfulness For Kids
I use Art Hub For Kids youtube channel often. Set the kids up with markers, and paper and the kind host teachers them how to draw so many things, including many of their favourite cartoon characters.
A collection of 21 great podcasts for kids. Including Podcasts for curious kids that answer all the questions they may have about the world around us. Mindfulness, mindset and relaxation podcasts. True stories about amazing people in history, and lovely fictional tales to spark the imagination
This has been a new discovery! A collection of coding challenges for kids. They range in difficulty, my preschooler can do some, my son is obsessed with the Minecraft themed coding challenges
Reading Eggs is something my kids have always loved. They run free 30 day subscription which has been great for lockdown
Check out what the animals are up to at Auckland Zoo. You can also find some animal kid-friendly activities on the website too
My kids love these sessions, via the Kenedy Centre YouTube Channel
Ok, so Ilove to hate Joe lol! My kids love his sessions
My kids usually do Jump Jam at school. You can find some free sessions available on their website
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Baby led weaning doesn’t need to be complicated, grab my quick start guide to begin your little ones food journey.