11_BT_Nov 2022

Baby & Toddler
Education
We would love to see our children
achieve the best for themselves and
grow up to become well adjusted
adults, who feel a sense of purpose and
fulfillment with their lives. For a long
time now, researchers and scientist
have been following the actions
parents take and the factors they have
on their children and the influence it
has on their level of success. While
the methods may vary depending on
a child’s personality, there are some
definitive things you can do to make
sure your child is better positioned to
be a successful adult.
1. Limit screen time
Think about it - children’s brain and
eyes are still developing from day
to day. Hence, long exposures to
television, tablet or cell phone screens
can’t possibly be good for them in any
way. In fact, if left unchecked, it can
have long-term negative consequences
on the undeveloped child’s brain.
Prolonged screen time is also found
to severely affects children’s attention
spans making it way shorter, affecting
the way kids learn new things in
school. It also stunts their verbal and
social skills.
According to the American Academy of
Pediatrics the set recommendations for
a child’s screen time depending on age
go as follows:
• 18 months and younger: No screen
time at all, except for video chatting.
• 18-24 months: Parents who choose
to introduce digital media should
choose high-quality programming.
You should also watch it with your
children to help them understand
what they’re seeing.
• 2 to 5 years: Limit screen use to
1 hour per day of high-quality
programmes. Parents should co-view
media with children to help them
understand what they are seeing and
apply it to the world around them.
• 6 and older: Place consistent limits
on the time spent using media, and
the types of media, and make sure
media does not take the place of
adequate sleep, physical activity and
other behaviors essential to health.
• They also ask that you designate
media-free times together. This can
be things such as dinner or driving,
as well as media-free locations at
home, such as bedrooms.
2. Read to your kid
This makes perfect sense, but
unfortunately, it’s a dying thing in our
modern, hectic world where everything
to do with early education is left to
centres and playschools. If you make
the effort however, you’ll find that
other than the sweet bliss of cuddling
up with your young child and taking
them on a literary adventure, reading
to them regularly and consistently from
a young age has been scientifically
proven to give them a lasting literacy
boost with obvious lifelong benefits.
Reading to young children has also
been proven to provide lasting verbal
skills and help with problem solving
skills as well. While any kind of
age-appropriate material will do for
reading sessions, reading stuff that
they themselves enjoy is definitely a
good idea!
BabyTalk | November 2022 21