My Perspective – ‘No TV Thursdays’

The latest catchphrase is ‘minimalistic living’. In this fast paced, tech-driven world I definitely see the benefits of cutting back, buying less and spending more time with real people than with devices.

Apparently the average person watches about four and a half hours of television each day (in America there are 2.73 TV sets in the typical home and 2.55 people – so more TV’s than people!) – and middle income South Africans are not far behind.

We are literally sitting on the couch while life passes us by.

Personally I have a love/ hate relationship with screens, too often have I found myself mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook feed.

Between phones and the TV I find time with my husband simply evaporates and before we know it we have hardly connected at all. I now really look forward to Thursdays.

Thursday is no technology day for adults in the Naudé household! We talk, we read, we do whatever we want. Suddenly there’s so much time for each other.

When it comes to our son we’ve taken a radical approach. I always knew I would be strict about devices (no cellphone till 18 and so on) but when Daniël was born (he’s 2 now) I had to reevaluate my stand on the issue.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) new guidelines, released in October 2016, limit screen use to one hour per day for children age two to five years. But most children are using four to five times that.

The problem is that screens really are the ultimate babysitter. Its challenging to cook dinner with a toddler hanging on your leg crying to go outside. The TV is just so easy, switch it on and the kids instantly zone out.

Everywhere you look you see screens being used to manage children, from the baby being shown a funny video to keep him distracted enough to eat, to the young kids absorbed in their iPad games so mom and dad can drink coffee in peace. One almost wonders how our parents coped without all these screens.

But I can’t throw stones – I’ve used screens countless times – and I only have one child, I’m sure the pressure will only grow when our second arrives.

What really made me sit up and take notice was the announcement by a friend from Daniël’s antenatal class that they were reevaluating their child’s access to screens. She is a grade 1 teacher at a local school and with genuine horror she told us how she had seen the damaging effects of screen-time first hand:

“The children in my class this year were born in 2010, the year the iPad was released, and I have never taught a class with so many social, emotional and academic problems.

“Fifteen out of the 22 in my class attend a therapy of some sort as they have poor co-ordination, low muscle tone and auditory processing disorders. When observing them play, they don’t really interact and talk and tend to play on their own.

“They also have no imagination whatsoever and are completely passive in their learning. In assembly on Friday there was a dance group teaching the kids a dance and the whole hall was joining in except for the grade 1s who just stood motionless observing. Usually it’s the other way around and the grade 1s are going mental. When I do reading with them they are unable to respond to questions I ask about the book and it’s rather frightening how many of them have reading issues.

The only time my kids pay attention is if I show them something on my smart board in class but even then they can’t tell me about what they have just watched!

“I have read a lot about how technology can affect social and developmental skills and academic performance and is also linked to sensory disorders, but to see it first hand is so frightening.”

After much discussion, Pieter and I decided it was time to draw a line in the sand. It will be some time until conclusive evidence is available on exactly how damaging screens are to developing minds, so instead of waiting until the damage is done we decided to not allow Daniel any TV time of his own, no Barney, Minions or Paw Patrol.

But he is occasionally allowed to watch sport or wildlife programmes for max 20 minutes if Pappa wants to watch. Call us extreme, but I want him to grow up with memories of the simple things: playing outside, building block towers, discovering new worlds in books and having real-life ‘facetime’ with his parents.

Maybe one day I’ll get rid of the TV completely… now that would take real courage.

>>  Expect to find the latest trends in Health, Wellness and Beauty in Ballito.

>> Meet the top players in the North Coast property industry. See our Property People feature.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.