Why I Allow Screen Time
We are told screen time is bad. “It’s going to delay childhood development, turn their brain into mush and they will never leave the couch!” In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth! We are a very active family. We love to play outside, hike, go to the playground, do yard work AND play video games. There are a few main reasons I allow screen time – to get things done, to wind down and to teach my children. That’s right! There ARE educational reasons for screen time and they DO further childhood development.
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Break Time
As a stay at home parent, I’m with my children 100% of the time. That means NO BREAKS but there are times when breaks are necessary – cooking, cleaning, bathroom breaks or a quick breather! If your children are anything like mine, they slip out the door as quietly and quickly as a mouse. So, tablets are great for entertaining them and allowing me a break!
Quiet Time & Winding Down
Right there with Break Time is Quiet Time & Winding Down. We are ON all day – feeding animals, riding bikes, chalking on the driveway, playing kitchen, jumping on the trampoline – and at some point everyone starts to get cranky. Sound familiar? I like to have quiet activities for them to do during these times (like these Wikki Stix Alphabet Cards) but some days they just want to relax on the couch and I can’t blame them! That’s where the tablet is super convenient. My kids love to lay on the couch together and play the tablet.
Appointments & Adult Responsibilities
My son has a tough time dealing with grocery shopping.. or really any shopping in general. He gets bored quickly and acts up. The tablet keeps him quiet so that I can get done what needs to get done! We also bring it to doctors appointments or on long car rides. It keeps him happy and what’s better, me getting stressed and raising my voice or him playing a half hour or so of ABCmouse and giggling when the cows moo?
Education
Yep! You heard me, Education. To say that a game or tablet can’t be educational is WRONG. Gaming teaches technology, hand-eye coordination, letter recognition, reading, speaking, fine motor skills, thinking, problem solving and the list goes on! This week, we downloaded the free calculator app and Miss 4 typed in the numbers to complete her Addition Practice Worksheets.
ABCmouse is our absolute favorite app for the tablet and phone (AND if you click here, it’s FREE for 30 days!). You can cancel anytime! It’s educational and my kids love it. I’ve watched my children flourish from ABCmouse. My 1 year old repeats everything the teachers say and loves learning about all of the animals. My 4 year old likes playing the toddler time – different activities like reading a book, tracing letters, coloring, singing songs, puzzles, etc. She gets a reward after a certain number of levels and she LOVES choosing her reward. ABCmouse lets you choose which level your child is at and has different games and activities for each level. There are 10 levels from Toddler to Second Grade. I know that when my littles are playing ABCmouse on the tablet, I don’t have to feel bad about them having screen time because they are LEARNING.
*TIP* I first bought ABCmouse for the computer when my daughter was 2. She had trouble coordinating the mouse and keyboard. Then, we bought the Fire HD tablet and it was SO much easier for her to play. As a 4 year old, she can handle the mouse and keyboard but little ones will do better with a tablet.
Click here for a 30 day FREE TRIAL of ABCmouse.
I know your little will LOVE this app! ↓
Here’s a few screenshots of our favorite spots on ABCmouse – The Classroom, Math Puzzles, Zoo Activities and learning about the zoo animals like Elephants!
The Best Tablet For Kids
We have tried a few different tablets – A cheap brand that cracked in the first hour of my daughter using it on our trip to Disney World (I don’t even remember which brand), the Samsung Tab 3 which was okay for adults but not as kid friendly as I had hoped and the Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition. The Fire is AMAZING!!
Here is what I love the most about the Amazon Fire HD Tablet:
- Kid friendly user interface – really easy to use and understand
- The internet browser with videos has limited access – kids can only see age appropriate, pre-approved videos and websites
- Very durable with kid-proof case – my son threw our brand new Fire HD 8 over the bannister. I held my breath as I walked down the stairs but it was fine!
- Freetime unlimited – every Fire tablet comes with 1 year free unlimited freetime which has tons of books, games and videos
- Great battery life
- Adult user interface separate from kids with access to everything
- No ads
I am very concerned with what my children have access to when playing video games. The Amazon Fire HD Tablet and ABCmouse app have given me the opportunity to have an entertaining and educational distraction for times when I can’t be there 100%.
My main reason for allowing screen time is for all the time I DON’T allow screen time. We don’t spend days on end playing computer and tablet games. Most of our time is spent outside or doing crafts but it sure is nice to have a trustworthy, educational distraction for when adult time is needed!
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