Advantages of Screen Time Parents Don’t Want to Admit To

“Nicky, if you don’t help me put away all this lego, there’s no more Sponge Bob.”

Nicky was sitting in the middle of a huge mess of lego all over the floor which he had quite cheerfully been throwing.

“No more Sponge Bob for the rest of the weekend if you don’t help me right now!”

With that simple threat, the lego was very quickly put away.

I wonder how often this scene is played out in other homes? I wonder about the power of the screen over our children. We all know it is bad for them. There is a plethora of evidence that backs this up. However, this post is not about that. I’m going to list right here the advantages of screen time, that as much as know how bad it is, we do want to celebrate those times when it really is useful.

1. When You Are About to Snap. Sometimes we all have those days. Those days where you are torn in a million pieces, trying to do a million things. At those points where you feel you are going to lose yourself and your temper if your kid interrupts you for something just one more time, then it is time to bring out the screen. Yes, it’s bad for them, but it’s better for your sanity. And we all need our sanity.
2. When You Need to Enforce A Consequence: Often kids just don’t want to follow the rules and you have to follow through with some kind of consequence or else you’re going to be stuck in a situation where they learn bad habits. I’ve learnt from so many years of teaching that if I didn’t do something, they wouldn’t take me seriously. One consequence you can use as a parent is removing screen time. As you can see in the scenario above, it can work. Sometimes it doesn’t. But then you can follow through. Sharon wrote about this recently.
3. When You Want Them To Learn. There are heaps of educational apps on the IPad. I’ve written before about how he learnt his numbers and letters using the Kid’s Academy app.
4. When You’re Stuck in the Car For A Long Time. I think long car journeys with small children are super stressful.  We did one when Nicky was six months old and suffice to say it has been a significant reason why we haven’t gone again. All his movies on his IPad require that he has to be in the house to access them through our Plex network. This is why I’m glad to hear that Showmax has a unique function that allows you to download up to 25 shows and movies on your Android or iOS device and keep them for 30 days. This is perfect for keeping the kids busy on long trips when there is limited connectivity.
5. When You’re Desperate for a Babysitter. Nobody likes to admit that they use the electronic babysitter. Of course it is much better to be playing stimulating games with them and giving them attention. But when you’ve spent four hours doing that and you just want a break so that you can get that one thing done without interruption or else you will snap (see 1), the old TV comes in handy.

Of course the old TV comes in many shapes and forms these days. There isn’t just normal TV anymore. If you have a decent internet connection, the possibilities are endless. And there are quite a few options these days to choose from.

Showmax is an affordable option for SA viewers at only R99 per month. It also has the largest subscription video catalogue in Africa with more 20 000 episodes of local and international content. Netflix, according to this post, for a similar package of streaming to two screens, would cost you $9.99. VIDI and OnTapTV are in standard definition. OnTapTV comes in at the cheapest at R89 per month but it does have significantly less options to watch (800+ titles for Showmax versus 430+ titles for OnTapTV according to this). Showmax also has a seven day free trial.

ShowMax has classic and new titles for the kids from Disney and Nickelodeon including SpongeBob Squarepants, The Avengers series, Power Rangers and Dora the Explorer. The little ones will enjoy Shaun the Sheep, Teletubbies, Franny’s Feet and Winnie the Pooh.

There are also educational programmes like LeapFrog and Super Why to help with early stage development.

A nice addition for locals if you are struggling to find children’s programming in Afrikaans is that ShowMax has a fantastic selection including Liewe Heksie, Heidi, Nils Holgerson and Sinbad that you won’t find elsewhere.

There is a lot of bad things to be said about the screen in our homes. It is much more healthy for kids to be playing than vegetating in front of a screen. But every now and then, there is a place for it.

So long as we don’t make it an unhealthy habit.

What do you think?

This post was sponsored by Showmax.