As a mum of 3, I think doing schoolwork on devices should count under screen time guidelines
As schools increasingly rely on digital learning, mother-of-three Wang Yingyu argues that the level of screen time devoted to schoolwork deserves just as much scrutiny as recreational use, especially for younger children.
Singapore's Grow Well SG strategy recommends less than two hours of screen time per day for children aged seven to 12, unless it's related to schoolwork. In many households, school-related screen time is treated as a necessity rather than something to be questioned. As a mother of three, Wang Yingyu sees the issue of screen time from a different perspective.
With an iPad shared between her two boys, one is learning while the other two watch and interfere. While the nine-year-old benefits from an online portal that provides native speaker audio and immediate feedback, the distraction of additional features that can be played with adds up. The government has introduced guidelines that encourage parents to consider not just the quantity but also the quality of screen time.
This has led to a change in their own policies at home, where they ban YouTube Shorts and limit screen time to one device rather than multiple. However, on an HBL day, screen time seems to be excused, taking up to 10 to 15 minutes to get the children focused on their work. The guidelines leave out the fact that all screen time, even educational, competes with essential aspects of a child's well-being such as outdoor play, sleep, and the development of fine motor skills.
Written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
