Smart devices|However, experts emphasize that screen time, which is often blamed for taking advantage of boring moments, is not the beginning and root of all evil.
Junior the screen time may have allowed to swell during the summer vacation, when there was enough free time to fill. Experts encourage children to be bored without digital devices.
“Boredom is not dangerous at all. Parents don’t need to be stressed that they have to schedule all their free time,” says the vice-president of the Media Education Society and library pedagogue Anna Jalo.
Torpor is not only harmless but essential for the child’s development. Child psychiatry specialist and family therapist Laura Widenius According to this, being bored is also an important counterbalance to the flood of stimuli in everyday life, both around digital devices and at school and in hobbies.
Schools start this week, and for example, there are rules for the use of telephones in schools in Helsinki being tightened.
“Being bored is exactly what feeds a child’s own creativity, imagination and play. The moments of boredom are incredibly important.”
Play, on the other hand, develops, for example, a child’s emotional and interaction skills as well as problem-solving abilities. However, in order to stimulate play and creativity, you have to be patient and twiddle your thumbs.
“You can tell a child who says there’s nothing to do, then don’t do anything,” Widenius laughs.
Although an adult does not have to be a bottomless activity automaton, moments of boredom can be supported by helping the child find their own interests and offering to be present, Widenius advises.
Setting an example is also key. That’s why it’s best to agree the rules of the game for phone use in families together.
“Children and young people inevitably model the behavior of adults,” says Widenius.
Common rules of the game also maintain a conversational connection, which, according to Jalo and Widenius, is important to exist, especially when the child comes across distressing content on social media.
Jalo reminds us that excessive screen time is not only a problem for children, but that people of all ages have challenges in concentrating and calming down. Adults should also give more space to boredom and creativity in their everyday life.
“An adult can also express to a child that oops, I spent too long scrolling.”
Digital world however, is not just a hotbed of evil. According to Widenius, the concentration challenges and anxiety of children and young people have increased, but there is not enough research evidence that the phenomenon is specifically related to digital devices.
“Phones are just another demonized thing. Even Shakespeare had to destroy the brains and morals of all young people,” Jalo laughs.
Widenius lists the good sides of social media: physical distance does not prevent communication, and people who share the same interests can be found all over the world. If real-life encounters are challenging for psychological or neuropsychiatric reasons, for example, interacting via the screen can be easier.
Of course, real-life encounters are also hugely important for a child’s development.
“In social media, from the point of view of interaction skills, a lot of really essential elements, such as facial expressions and gestures, are left out,” says Widenius.
Not seeing an emotional reaction may, for example, lower the threshold for bullying. The other party’s twitching lower lip remains unseen on social media.
What so is the screen time suitable for the child?
Jalo and Widenius state that defining the limits of screen time is guided by the search for balance. Is the homework done? Will there be enough exercise and sleep? Or is the child irritable or impatient?
“Absoluteness is perhaps not entirely realistic and not necessarily a good thing either. More important is the ability to manage one’s own everyday life, and this is not something a child or young person has yet. The task of adults is to help and guide in that.”
Widenius also points out that it is important to agree, in addition to screen time, for example on what can be done with digital devices, where they can be used and what times of the day the screens are kept dark.
Different limits are suitable for one child than for another. They have been drawn to the right places when safety, a balanced everyday life and a conversational connection with an adult are maintained.
Widenius compares the digital world to the development of cars: when cars didn’t have seat belts yet, there were more deaths and injuries in traffic than today. The problem was not solved by banning cars, but by adding seat belts to them and developing traffic rules.
Jalo also uses a traffic analogy when talking about phone use:
“You can’t lock a child at home so that they don’t go into traffic when there are cars and electric scooters.”
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