Whether you are responsible for raising a healthy, morally strong human being in this world or not, you’re likely aware of the never-ending screen time debate that’s been splitting parents into two camps – those who don’t see a big deal about their toddler indulging in countless hours of “Baby Shark” and those who do.
What’s a better way, then, to see if you’re too relaxed about the whole thing than putting yourself in front of a jury of mothers? A couple of days ago, a mommy by the username MelroseGrainger did just that when she asked the Mumsnet community if an excessive amount of screen time is “rotting her toddler’s brains”. Alas, as if knowing the verdict before pressing that “publish” button, the mother humorously finished off with “runs and ducks for cover.”
Recently, a mother asked other parents if being relaxed about a toddler’s screen time makes her a bad parent
Image credits: Aliaksei Smalenski (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Kampus Production (not the actual photo)
Image credits: MelroseGrainger
Image credits: Jessica Lewis Creative (not the actual photo)
If you’re one of those parents who find guesstimating and regulating your kids’ screen time a bit baffling, rest assured you’re not alone. This gets particularly complicated as headlines such as NPR‘s “How Smartphones are Making Kids Unhappy” and The Huffington Post’s “How Technology Has Made Our Kids Smarter Than Ever” run parallel to each other.
The somewhat good news is that parents are as divided about the whole screen time issue as the experts’ findings. According to a 2020 Pew Research report, 71% of parents with a child under the age of 12 say they are at least somewhat concerned that their child might spend too much time in front of screens, with 31% expressing a high level of concern. However, to the dismay of other parents, the rest of childrearers don’t think it’s such a big deal.
You might not be too surprised to hear that bribing your kids with extra screen time is akin to “giving a kid a little bit of cocaine.” Of course, that is a wild exaggeration most parents have heard in their own formative years about TV or Nintendo 64. To paraphrase Vicki Broadbent, the founder of HonestMum.com: parents must do what’s necessary to survive and flourish, managing the immense mental and physical toll that comes with juggling parenthood. And if that means a few extra hours on the iPad now and then, who are we to judge?
Most parents didn’t shy away from giving the mom their honest two cents about kids’ screen time
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